Dynamic Reversal
by The Emperor of Dreams
Summary: Sometimes Kim's life resembles the movies. Evil minions become dashing heroes; and heroes, sexy thieves.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Kim Possible and related characters belong to Disney. I don't claim to own them and I'm not trying to profit from them. I'm just trying to entertain.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Kim Possible woke to the sound of a phone ringing. It wasn't her ringtone. She was disoriented from waking up in the middle of a dream and for a moment she had no idea where she was or what was happening. The phone kept ringing, and Kim blearily groped towards it. Her hand encountered something soft and warm. The ringing finally stopped.

"What the heck is it, Dr. D?"

The sound of the husky female voice sent pleasant tingles along Kim's body. She opened her eyes to look at the other occupant of the bed. Shego was groggily holding a mobile phone to her ear, her eyes closed and her long black hair in disarray. Kim thought she looked absolutely enchanting.

"Shego, where are you?" Shego pulled the phone away from her ear as Dr. Drakken's disagreeable voice blared from the speaker.

"At my place. It's my day off."

"I need you here, Shego. The device is finished, and I'm ready to move on to phase two."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" Shego cracked her eyes open to look at Kim. She let her gaze roam Kim's sheet-covered body appreciatively.

"We must strike while the iron is hot. Get back here immediately."

"Yeah, yeah. Hold your horses. I'll be there in a couple of hours." Part of Kim's awakening mind started working out what constraints that placed on the possible locations of Dr. Drakken's lair. The rest of her mind was occupied in appreciating Shego's bare torso.

"You'd better not be late, Shego." Shego ended the call.

"Duty calls, huh?"

"Well, a blue annoyance called, but I'm afraid I need to go, all the same. He can get pretty intense when he thinks his plan is coming together." Shego trailed her hand on Kim's stomach and sighed. "I was kinda looking forwards to spending the day together."

"Yeah, me too." Kim offered Shego a coquettish smile. "I guess I'll hang out with Monique, instead. At least we can hash out the details of my supposed sleepover."

"As long as that's all you do."

"You know you're the only one for me, Shego."

"I'd better be."

A four-note tune sounded from the floor next to Kim's side of the bed.

"Hang on." Kim dug into her backpack and pulled out her Kimmunicator. "Go, Wade."

"Kim, I think I've managed to locate... why's the video not on?"

"I'm not exactly decent, Wade." She was naked, after all. Not to mention sharing a bed with a wanted criminal.

"At this hour? What have you been doing?"

"That's not important right now, Wade. What have you found out?"

"Sorry. I think I've located Dr. Drakken's hideout. Some very unusual energy readings popped up just minutes ago."

Kim looked at Shego, who looked back at her, shrugging her shoulders.

"I suppose we'd better look into it. Have you called Ron?"

"Yes. I figured he was still sleeping and it would save time if I woke him up, first."

"Good call." Kim would have preferred to be sleeping, too. She'd had a late, if pleasurable, night.

"I've arranged a ride. Uh, where are you, Kim? Your GPS is off."

"Really? I must have accidentally messed up the settings. I'll check it out. Send them to pick up Ron first, okay?"

"Fine. Where do you want them to meet you?"

Kim looked at Shego speculatively. "Just have them bring Ron to Dr. Drakken's lair. I'll arrange my own ride."

"Uh, if you're sure, Kim."

"I'm sure. Talk to you later, Wade." Kim signed off and turned towards Shego with an expectant look.

"No."

"We're both going to the same place," Kim pointed out very reasonably.

"Of course we are, but if you make your own way, at least I don't feel like I'm collaborating with my boss's arch-nemesis."

"But you're fine with sleeping with her."

"What I do on my off-time is my own business."

"Why can't you just give me a ride?"

"When we're on the clock, we're enemies, Kimmie. Enemies don't carpool."

"Please? That way we could spend a little more time together." Kim let herself pout a little.

"I'm not opposed to spending time with you, but when I'm supposed to be working I'm afraid it needs to be limited to fighting."

Kim thought Shego was being unnecessarily obstinate, but it hardly mattered; she had made up her mind, and she would not be denied. She decided it was time to break out the big guns. She pushed out her lower lip as her eyes grew large and watery. She hung her head and gave Shego a mournful sidewise stare.

"No. No, no, no. Don't do this to me, Kimmie."

"Pweeze?" Kim's lower lip quivered and her voice trembled pathetically.

Shego screwed her eyes shut. Kim maintained her puppy-dog pout. Shego cautiously opened one eye and looked at Kim. Kim saw the capitulation in her expression.

"Oh, fine. We can ride together. But just this once."

Kim's expression instantly turned joyful. She reached out to give Shego a hug. "Thank you, Shego."

"Yeah. Well." Shego scratched her head, a smile threatening to break out. "I guess we need to get up." Shego pulled off the sheet and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I'm going to shower. Get your gear together, you can shower after me."

"No, I think I'm going to join you."

"Kimmie, much as I'd love to play with you, I need to get to work. You know what happens when we shower together."

"Mmm, but if I shower after you, will you still be here by the time I get out?"

"I already said I'd give you a ride. Don't you trust me?"

"Trust but verify, Shego. You are a villain."

"I guess you do know me. But I'm not kidding. If I let you into the shower with me, I'm going to be so late."

"So? You know I won't get there before you, and it's not like you'll have time to get to phase two, anyway." Kim had got on her knees behind Shego and was trailing her fingers along her shoulders and arms. "Being a little late won't hurt anyone."

"You make a convincing argument. Besides, it was supposed to be my day off."

Shego jumped off the bed, grabbed Kim's hand, and rushed towards the bathroom. Kim laughed happily as she was dragged along.

* * *

"Won't people notice you have this thing parked on the roof?" Kim said as she helped Shego pull the tarpaulin off Dr. Drakken's hover car.

"Nobody comes up here. Besides, I have an understanding with the janitor."

"What sort of an understanding?"

"The kind that involves naked greenbacks."

"I wish you wouldn't speak about naked green backs."

"Jealous?"

"Do I have reason to be?"

Shego dropped the tarp on the roof and swept Kim into a kiss. "Nope. Even I know better than to mess with a good thing."

"Aww, you're so sweet when you get all romantic."

Shego's expression grew harder for a second, then softened again. "Only for you. Now get on board."

Kim vaulted over the side of the flying machine and sank down to the seat next to Shego's.

"You know, I don't think I've ever been on one of these before."

"Why would you have? Dr. D's pretty protective of them. I don't blame him; these are some of his best work."

"He made these? I thought he stole them."

"Well, I'm not sure where the design came from. He had it before I signed on. Either way, they make for a handy commute."

"He could make a mint selling these, rather than trying to take over the world."

"Not everyone wants to be a productive member of the society, Kimmie. Besides, these things are not cheap to make or maintain. It helps if you don't have to pay for the parts."

Kim fell silent as Shego finished her preparations and lifted off. She didn't really like it when Shego reminded her of what she did for a living. They flew in silence for a while.

"I thought this would be faster."

"I'll speed up once we're out of the city limits. Here, you'll want to wear these when I do."

"Goggles?"

"Do you see a windshield?"

"Not much of a one. This is definitely Dr. Drakken's work."

"He never thinks things through. Hold on, I'm flooring it."

The hover car shot forwards, threatening to leave Kim's stomach behind. She was pushed into the seat and the force of the wind hitting her felt like running into a wall. She was glad for the goggles and wished she had a scarf as well. All these were minor annoyances compared to the exhilaration she felt in hurtling through the sky with Shego by her side. She turned to grin at the woman, wind whipping her ponytail around.

The onrushing air made conversation impossible. Kim settled on leaning against Shego, resting her head on her shoulder and laying her hand on her leg. She felt Shego subtly pressing back as she worked the controls. When she started stroking Shego's thigh, the older woman swatted her hand away and gave her an admonishing stare. Kim grinned at her again, but acquiesced; she probably shouldn't distract the driver. They flew on, content in each other's presence.

* * *

"Looks like your party."

Shego had slowed down as they approached their destination, making conversation possible again. Kim peered in the direction Shego had indicated, then pulled out binoculars from the glove compartment and took a closer look.

"Yep, it's Ron and I think Baxter with his donkeys." She decided not to mention that one of the donkeys was munching on Ron's pants.

Shego raised one elegant eyebrow, prompting Kim to elaborate. "I helped him out with one of his donkeys once. Emergency delivery. It was no big."

"Right. How about I set you down somewhere out of sight rather than right next to them."

"Sounds prudent."

Shego veered off and landed the craft behind a pile of rocks. Kim jumped off, then leaned back in to give Shego a kiss.

"Thanks for the lift, honey. Have a nice day at work."

"Very funny." Shego grumbled at her, but Kim could see the smile she tried to hide. "I'll see you in a bit."

"Try not to miss me too much."

"Oh, I won't miss." Shego activated her power for emphasis, letting the eerie green glow dance on her palm for a few seconds.

Kim waved at Shego as she took off again, then shouldered her backpack and walked over to meet up with Ron.

"Hi, KP. I didn't think I'd get here before you."

"Well, let's not waste any more time. We still need to locate Dr. Drakken's lair." Shego had very unreasonably refused to point out the entrance.

"Oh, I've already narrowed it down to somewhere in the Grand Canyon!" Ron shouted the last words as he thrust his arms towards the impressive landscape before them. "Who builds their lair in the Grand Canyon?"

"Dr. Drakken, apparently. I'm sure Wade can help us narrow it down." Kim pulled out the Kimmunicator as she walked towards the edge of the cliff. "Come on. Let's get this show on the road."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Shego entered the lair and immediately turned the security systems back on. There was no need to make Kim's job _too_ easy. There was nothing too dangerous on the cards, anyway, as Dr. Drakken preferred to capture his intruders, the better to gloat at them.

She popped into the break room to tell the henchmen to be on guard, only to remember that Dr. Drakken had elected to go without them for the moment. Shego took that to mean he was broke. Building a secret underground lair in the Grand Canyon had probably stretched his finances near breaking point. One of these days she really needed to figure out how Dr. Drakken always seemed to find fresh funds to finance his schemes, and how she could divert some of it for herself.

The lair was extensive enough that it took Shego several minutes to arrive at the large open chamber at its heart. Her boss was already there. The blue-skinned man was pacing impatiently back and forth with his arms behind his back.

"Finally you get here, Shego. What kept you so long?"

"It takes a while to wash my hair." Shego didn't see the need to specify that it wasn't her that had done the washing. Truthfully, it took even longer when Kim did it; she kept getting sidetracked.

"Couldn't that have waited?"

"No. So, what's the sitch?" Shego cringed and resolved to never let those words pass her lips again. Clearly she was spending too much time around a certain redheaded teenager.

"The 'sitch', Shego, as the teenagers call it, is that I'm ready to move forward to phase two."

"So you said on the phone. What's phase two?"

"The phase two of my plan, Shego. I explained all of this to you, exhaustively and at length."

"Yeah, I might not have been paying attention. Can we have it again from the top?"

"Nrgh." Shego reflected that if Dr. Drakken didn't make such entertaining noises, she'd probably spend much less time messing with him. "The plan, Shego, is to steal the Neutronolizer from the army."

"The Neutro-what?"

"Neutronolizer."

"And what is that?"

"I have no idea. The military has it and it's top secret; it must be something good."

"Okay, great." It would probably be wisest to just let Kim shut down this harebrained caper before it even got off the ground. It would save Shego a lot of time and trouble. "And how are you planning on getting it? If it's top secret, you can't just walk up to it."

"Aha! I can't, but private Dobbs can."

Shego just looked at him blankly.

"He's one of the personnel assigned to the project. I've done my homework, Shego. He is the perfect person to switch brains with."

Shego knew she couldn't have heard that right. "Uh, I'm sorry, Dr. D, for some reason I thought you said: 'switch brains with'."

"Yes, Shego." Dr. Drakken sounded exasperated. He took a few steps towards a strange three-legged machine standing nearby and swept his arm at it. The machine was topped by a large hemisphere. With all the wires leading to it, Shego would have expected it to crackle with electricity, but for the moment it was quiescent. "The phase one of my plan: building a brain switch machine."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I need a little break here." Shego proceeded to break into laughter. Dr. Drakken had his good moments and his bad ones, but this was uncommonly delusional even for him. She doubled over from laughing. Eventually she got herself back under control and wiped tears from her eyes. She had to lean on a table for support as she lowered herself into her usual chair, still chuckling.

"Are you quite done?" Dr. Drakken had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Shego burst into laughter again. "No, sorry, no I'm not. Brain switch machine..."

"It's quite simple, Shego. You abduct private Dobbs and bring him here. Then I will use the brain switch machine to switch my brains with his, and I will steal the Neutronolizer using his body."

"Well, when you put it like that it sounds completely reasonable."

"Thank you, Shego."

"No, wait, did I say reasonable? I meant completely nuts." What was taking Kim so long? She wanted her here before Dr. Drakken dragged her any deeper into the crazy.

"Nuts, Shego? It is ingenious! None other than I, Doctor Drakken, could have conceived of such a plan!"

"Well, I can't disagree with that."

"It's good to see you acknowledge my genius. And once I possess the mighty Neutronolizer, the whole world will be forced to do so. This time, I will not be stopped."

"I am so going to stop you, Dr. Drakken!" Shego gave silent thanks at hearing Kim's voice.

"Kim Possible? Here? Now? How?"

Shego thought that, for once, Dr. Drakken had a reason to be surprised by Kim's presence, even if he overdid it as always. Traditionally Kim wasn't quite this proactive, usually only getting involved once Dr. Drakken's latest scheme was well in motion. Of course, Kim had lately been much more zealous about coming after him. Remarkably often Shego managed to slip away even when Kim and her sidekick captured Dr. Drakken. Only an unkind soul would suggest Kim might be letting her go on purpose.

"That's for us to know, and you to find out."

"Ron, that doesn't really make any sense."

"Just filling up my quota for banter, KP."

"Enough of this silly banter. Shego, stop them."

"With pleasure." Shego jumped up from her chair and lit up her hands. She advanced on Kim with a smile she hoped bore at least a passing resemblance to a vicious grin.

"Ron, stop Dr. Drakken." Kim stood her ground, her eyes alight with anticipation.

"You got it, KP."

Shego engaged Kim and soon lost track of what her employer and Kim's sidekick were up to. She had always relished going head to head with Kim, as she was one of the few people who could give her a real fight one on one. These days their fights were quite friendly, with neither of them looking to cause permanent damage, or injuries that would be inconvenient in later, more private moments. Part of Shego missed the exhilaration of the earlier no holds barred contests, but on balance she was fine with things as they stood. After all, those private moments were exhilarating in their own right.

"So, what's the plan this time?"

"You don't want to know."

"Yeah, I do. Come on, Shego, tell me."

"No. It's way too stupid. Just promise to stop him before he involves me in it."

"That's what I'm here for."

"And here I though you came for me."

"That was earlier."

"Oh, my, Princess. Was that innuendo?"

"You know, we could be at your place right now, if your boss didn't have terrible timing."

"Don't remind me. You can arrest him this time. He deserves it."

"How about you fight with Ron for a minute, and I go punch Dr. Drakken?"

"Ugh, I don't want to fight with that... person." Kim's glare warned Shego to censor herself. She didn't want to be in the doghouse again. "How about you fight with him, and I go punch Dr. D?"

Kim giggled. "I think the boys might be a little confused at that."

"It might be worth it." Shego was grinning. "Actually, they might be confused just seeing us now."

"Good point."

Kim paused to look around. Shego abandoned her attack so as to not hit the distracted girl. She scanned their surroundings, too. She'd been so focused on Kim it hadn't even occurred to her they might have an audience. As she looked, Ron ran out from behind one of Dr. Drakken's machines, shortly followed by the mad scientist brandishing a large tool.

"Nope, they're still busy. But maybe we should get back to fighting?"

"Just remember that you asked for it."

Shego and Kim came together once more, and soon lost the track of their surroundings again. After a few deflected punches and kicks they grappled with each other. They ended up rolling on the floor as each tried to end up on top. The roll came to an abrupt stop as they hit an obstruction with considerable force: one of the pylons supporting Dr. Drakken's metal tripod. The hit must have knocked something loose, as something fell on Shego's head, momentarily stunning her. She then cried out in sudden pain as thousands of fiery needles stabbed into her brain. She blacked out.

* * *

Shego was jolted awake by somebody shaking her by the shoulders.

"KP! KP! We've got to go."

She opened her eyes to the unlikely sight of Kim's sidekick grasping her by a shirt she shouldn't have been wearing. "What do you want, Stoppable?"

"Come on, KP. The place is going to blow up."

"Ron?" The confused and confusing voice came from Shego's left. Confusing, because it sounded much like hers. She looked at the source. It was her.

"What the..."

Shego looked back at her, looking as bewildered as she felt. Then something clicked in her brain. "Brain switch machine."

"What?"

"I can't believe it actually works. Dr. D has a brain switch machine. We're in each other's bodies. Where's the controls? We need to switch back."

"There's no time, KP. We need to go now. Somebody might have accidentally pressed the self-destruct button." The naked molerat perched on the boy's shoulder nodded seriously in support of the exhortation. Shego decided to ignore it.

"Try to follow the game, Stoppable. I'm Shego." Shego pointed at Kim's chest, then at herself. "That's Kimmie. Our brains got switched around, and we have to fix it."

"Look out." Kim pushed her body away as the dome of the machine came crashing down. "We need to get out."

"But our bodies..."

"We'll worry about that when we're not blown up." Shego-Kim grabbed Kim-Shego by the sleeve and rushed for the exit as the lair started to come down around them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Kim Possible looked at her body standing next to her. Then she looked down at Shego's body. This was definitely big. Ron looked at both of them with a confused expression.

"So... you're KP."

"Yes, Ron."

"And you're Shego."

Shego glowered at him. It was a somewhat unnatural look on Kim's face.

"How do I know you are who you say you are?"

"Why would I lie to you, Ron?"

"You would if you were Shego."

"Ron, if I was Shego, then why would Kim lie to you?"

"Uh, I'm lost again. Didn't you claim you were KP?"

"Okay, that does it." Shego lifted Kim's fist threateningly, then looked at it in dismay. "Right, not my body. Kimmie, please power up and punch him."

"I'm not going to punch him, Shego!" Kim gave Shego a dirty look. It was strange looking at her face when it didn't mirror her expressions. Then she smirked. "But I do wonder if I can use your glow."

Kim was not a total neophyte when it came to Go Glow. When Aviarius had attempted to steal Hego's blue Glow, it had inadvertently ended up in Kim. She concentrated, trying to recall how to access the otherworldly power. Shego's hands lit up with her trademark green Glow.

"Oh, this is so cool."

"That's my power, Kimmie. That's my body, too. We need to figure out how to switch back."

"Right. That." Kim let the Glow fade, sobering up. She looked at the smoking ruin of Drakken's lair. "The device got destroyed with the base."

"And knowing Dr. D, it was the only one. We should have switched back right away."

"We'd be dead, Shego." Shego's eyes widened in alarm. "What about Dr. Drakken? Did he get out?"

"Yeah, KP. After cursing me out, he ducked into some sort of an escape hatch. He was cackling as he went. Who even cackles in this day and age?"

"Yeah, I think this lair had his ballistic escape pod. He's miles away by now." Kim's brow darkened. "He bailed out on me. Once I catch up with him, there will be words."

"You're not going after him in my body."

"Why not? You do it all the time."

"That's my body, you can't just take off with it."

"It's not my fault somebody activated the brain switch machine." Shego looked at Ron suspiciously. "How did that happen, anyway?"

Ron's pet naked mole-rat, Rufus, chose that moment to disappear into his pocket. Ron looked at nowhere in particular. "Eh, heheh. There might have been an accident and some buttons might have been pressed."

"Kimmie."

"I'm not going to punch him. We just need to figure out what to do. I think you should come with us."

"KP! She's a criminal. She should go to jail."

"We're not throwing my body in jail, Ron."

"Why would I want to come with you two? I need to corner Dr. D and make him figure out how to reverse this."

"Do you really believe he'll be able to do it? You're better off with us. Wade's a genius, and my mom's a brain surgeon." Kim took a step closer to her body and bent to whisper in her ear. "And is it such a terrible thing to stay with me for a couple of days?"

"Is this your devious plan to introduce me to your parents?"

Shego's cheeks turned a little red at Kim's voice. "I don't think we're quite at that stage yet, Shego."

"I was just teasing you, Kimmie. Uh, they don't know, do they?"

"I haven't told anybody but Monique. But, uh, I think my mom might suspect."

"She can suspect, as long as she can't prove anything."

"It's not a crime, Shego."

"KP, what are you two whispering about?"

"Ron, Shego's coming back with us."

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

"I'm not going to let her go unsupervised in my body."

"Ooh, worried that I'll do something naughty and ruin your reputation? You know me so well, Kimmie."

"Oh, no you won't. Ground rules: you won't do anything in my body that I wouldn't approve of."

"Come on, Kimmie." Shego studied Kim's hands. "If I'm stuck like this, I'm at least going to have some fun with it. Besides, how are you going to stop me?"

"Well... if you do something to ruin my image, I'll ruin yours!"

"A goody two-shoes like you? I'd like to see you try."

"Then just watch you."

Kim walked up to Baxter, who was leading his donkeys towards them.

"Well hello there, young lady. Who might you be?"

"My name is Shego. I couldn't help noticing that one of your donkeys is carrying. Please, don't hesitate to ask my help with the delivery. I love to help!"

"Fine!" Kim smiled at her annoyed voice and trotted back to her body.

"Okay, you made your point. Neither of us will do anything to endanger the other's reputation."

"I thought you might see it my way."

"That's a nice evil smirk, Kimmie. It looks good on me."

"It's not an evil smirk. I'm not evil."

"But Shego is. You need to uphold my reputation."

"We only agreed to not do anything to damage it. I don't need to do anything to enhance it. I'm not going to do anything criminal."

"Oh, fine. I see your point."

"Thank you, Shego."

"Of course, you will be quite happy with me not responding to any calls you might get. After all, I'm not a do-gooder myself."

"Uhh, I didn't really expect you to... I can do that myself."

"Not in my body. You have my reputation to consider."

"Ah... it's not even going to come up, probably. It probably won't take that long to get this situation sorted."

"Yeah. How hard could it be?"

Everybody fell silent for a while. All three realized a certain rule had been transgressed.

"Anyway, I'll call for a ride to get us home... uh, my Kimmunicator is in your pocket. I mean my pocket, on you."

"Never mind that, Kimmie. My hover car is hidden nearby."

"It wasn't in the lair?"

"You think I'd take my only ride into the lair when you are coming? Please, the lair always blows up."

"How did you know we were coming here?" Ron asked, making Kim panic.

"You always come to mess up Dr. D's plans."

"Yeah, that's true."

"It's a two-seater though, so doo... your sidekick needs to make his own way."

"Oh, come on, Shego. We're not leaving Ron here. There's room in the back."

"It won't be very comfortable."

"Eh, Ron can handle it."

"Are you sure you're not Shego?"

"Ron, thank Baxter and say goodbye."

"Why won't you do it?"

"Because I'm not quite myself, Ron." When Ron walked up to the man to say his farewells, Kim turned towards herself. "Shego, wave at the man."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I would. My reputation, remember?"

"Ugh, fine." Shego gave a quick wave. "Let's go get the car."

"Ooh, can I drive?"

"Do you think you could even handle it?"

"I was watching you all the way here. No big."

"I'd like to see you explain that to Ron."

"Good point. That might be a little awkward."

"But come to think of it, maybe you should drive. You need to practice for when you take over for me."

"Shego, I'm not going to pretend to be you."

"Yes, you are. You already had me pretend to be you."

"That was faster than explaining things."

"Fair's fair, Kimmie. If I cover for you when needed, you need to return the favor."

"But you're a criminal, Shego. Come on, be reasonable."

"I am being reasonable. You're the one trying to get my co-operation without offering anything in return. We need to compromise."

"That's not a good compromise."

Shego leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Come on, Kimmie. Think of it as role-play."

"Ooh, that might be... no. We can discuss this later, when Ron isn't around. Let's just get out of here."

"Do you really think your parents will let me stay at their house?"

"I'm sure they will, once I explain the sitch." Kim wondered why Shego suddenly flinched, but decided to ignore it. "They can be very understanding."

* * *

Kim and Shego sat at one side of the kitchen table. Doctors Possible sat at the other.

"So let me get this straight: you are not, in fact, Kimmie's archnemesis's sidekick."

"No, dad."

"And the person who appears to be our daughter is, in fact, a notorious villain."

"Yes, mom. Like I said, our brains got switched around."

"As a board-certified neurosurgeon I've got to say it's just not possible to swap brains."

"Point taken, Mrs. Dr. P, but I wasn't a redhead when I woke up this morning."

"And you invited her to stay with us?"

"I don't like the idea of my body wandering around without me in it."

Dr. Possible suddenly chuckled and shook his head. "Things sure have changed since my days. I can't say I ever had to worry about that when I was in high school. Well, I suppose there was that one incident with the science club when we attempted to go beyond the bounds of known science and—some would say—sanity itself. I remember it took us—"

"Honey."

"But perhaps that's a story for another time. Well, at least she isn't a boy. I guess she can stay, as long as she promises to behave."

"Thanks, dad."

"Not in your room, though. I'll prepare the guest room."

"That's fine, mom." Kim's gaze wandered somewhere to the left of her mother's eyes. "Why would I want her to stay in my room in the first place?"

"Why indeed." Dr. Possible looked from one pair of green eyes to another. "I'm curious to know why you would want to be with my daughter rather than with your villainous peers. I'm sure it occurred to someone of your... inclinations that you could put her body to all sorts of sordid uses."

"Mom!"

"It's a reasonable concern, Kimmie. The thing is, Mrs. Dr. P, that your daughter pointed out that my chances of getting back into my own body are better if I stick with you guys. And let me lay your fears to rest by saying that I'm not going to do anything to or with your daughter's body that she does not consent to."

"I'm relieved to hear that," Dr. Possible said in a dry voice.

"That's right, mom, we've negotiated some basic rules already. Mostly related to not compromising each other's reputations."

"I will cover for Kimmie as required. I'm even willing to go to school in her place."

"Really? That's very generous of you."

"It's not like she can go in my body. In exchange, Kimmie will of course take over my duties."

"I will do no such thing."

"It does sound only fair, Kimmie-cub."

"Dad, I don't want to become a criminal. I'll just miss a few classes, if it comes to that. It's no big deal."

"You are not going to be skipping school, young lady. If Shego is willing to take your place at the school, the least you can do is hold down the fort for her."

"Mom! Dad! You can't be serious." She couldn't believe her parents would take Shego's side.

"You wouldn't be doing anything she wouldn't do if you hadn't been switched. It all works out on the balance."

"That's very dubious reasoning, but it's probably not even going to be an issue. Between you guys and Wade, we're probably going to be back in our own bodies well before Monday."

"Let's hope you're right, honey."

"I'm sure of it. I have complete faith in you guys."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Shego walked into the Middleton High on the Monday morning, wearing Kim's clothes, and also Kim's body. There had been a lot of negotiation and argument about the clothes, but eventually Kim had prevailed with her position that since the objective was to pretend everything was normal, suddenly replacing her entire wardrobe was counterproductive. Shego had eventually settled on an ensemble of a white blouse, a short tartan skirt, and knee socks; she had found it funny. Kim wasn't quite as amused, but had to admit that the outfit was technically in keeping with their agreement.

Kim had suggested that Shego let Ron guide her around to start with. Shego had insisted on rather memorizing the needed information herself. Again, they had reached a compromise; Shego would try to manage as much as possible by herself, with Ron and Monique as her backup. Her first stop was Kim's locker. She found the right one on the first try, judging from the fact that the code worked. A picture of herself on the inside of the door was further confirmation, unless she was more popular with the student body than she'd realized.

Overall the locker was much like what she remembered from high school, with the notable exception of the built-in computer equipment. As Shego watched, the screen activated and showed the face of Kim's overweight techie friend, Wade.

"Everything all right, Shego?"

"Call me Kim. You're going to blow my cover."

"You 'ave no cover, you stupid woman."

"Excuse me? And what's with the fake French accent?"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. It's going to be weird calling you Kim."

"Why? I look like her, don't I?"

"I suppose. But I know you aren't actually her."

"We only switched our brains, so by weight I'm mostly Kim. How's it going with figuring this thing out?"

"Not so good. I've started going through the stuff that's being salvaged from the lair, but there's not much left. If we don't find intact pieces of the machine, or some designs for it, I'm not sure where to even start. What you describe happening shouldn't even be possible."

"Unfortunately, anything is possible for a Possible. Now, if you don't have any updates, leave me alone. I need to get to my first class."

"I've got to be honest, Sh...uh. I was a little surprised you volunteered to do this."

"I had my reasons. Besides, I've already done this once. Should be a breeze."

"I hope you're right. Nighthawk signing off." With that, Wade closed the connection.

"Settling in Kim?"

Shego turned to face the African-American girl who had walked up to her. She recognized her as Kim's friend and confidant Monique from her briefing.

"Technically this isn't the first time I've been inside this body."

"TMI, sister." Monique studied her with her head tilted to the side. "It's a little odd to see you say something like that without blushing all over."

"Oh, she's gotten much more comfortable with dirty talk. It's a shame, really: her blush is so gosh darned adorable."

"'Gosh darned'?"

"I'm trying to get into character here."

"You two don't spend much time talking, do you?"

"We talk." Before, during, and after.

"Sure." Monique looked Kim up and down. "Nice pigtails. She really let you out of the house like that?"

"Hey, they are legitimate Kim Possible style. I saw a picture of her with pigtails on her wall."

"I know that photo. It was taken when she was nine."

"Eh, details. And all the clothes are from her wardrobe, as per our agreement. Speaking of which, you and I are going shopping after school. Somebody needs an upgrade, and she agreed as long as you okay the clothes."

Monique's eyes glinted. "Ooh, I've been waiting for an opportunity to overhaul her style. Did she give you a budget?"

"My treat."

"...Is she comfortable with that?"

"Should I list all the things purchased with ill-gotten gains she has enjoyed?"

"Please don't. I just needed to check."

"Everything's golden. Now I need to get to the homeroom. That would be... let's see..."

"Down the hall, second room on the right."

"I knew that."

"Did you do the homework?"

"No, of course not. She's the one who needs to learn this stuff, so she's the one who'll do the work. Her mother backed me up on that. I'll take notes."

"Are you being thoughtful, or just lazy?"

"As somebody with a degree in child development, I take education very seriously."

"Yeah, I'm not going to even ask. What do..."

"Kim!" A voice from behind them interrupted Monique. After only a moment's delay Shego turned to face the girl calling Kim's name. A pretty brunette was stalking towards her, her beautiful face clouded with annoyance.

"I hope you are actually planning to show up for the practice today. Your choreography is lame enough, we don't need you flaking on the rehearsals, too."

"On that note, I'll take my leave." Monique turned to go. "I'll see you at lunch, Kim."

Brunette cheerleader with a bad attitude: she was talking to Bonnie. Shego couldn't help giving her a quick once-over; Kim had seriously undersold her attractiveness. She didn't quite understand how Kim had never figured out she was gay with girls like this on her cheer squad.

"I had a mission, Bonnie." Shego was pretty sure she got her Kim right.

"You need to get your priorities in order, Kim. Or maybe vacate your position for someone more qualified."

"And who would that be, Princess?"

Bonnie stamped her foot. "You know perfectly well I mean me, Kim. Whatever. I'll see you at the practice." She stormed off.

Shego watched her leave, admiring her hourglass figure, and the way her shapely behind moved as she walked. It was abstract admiration, of course. She was quite happy with the cheerleader she had, even if Bonnie did have fuller curves. Still, with scenery like that, she expected to enjoy her return to high school.

* * *

Shego was in hell. The teacher droned on about something she couldn't quite focus enough to recognize, and her supposed prior knowledge from finishing high school didn't help at all. Occasionally there was a break in the tedium of the lecture when the students interrupted the teacher. Unfortunately the inane questions and lame attempts at witticism were worse, steadily aggravating her further. Shego glanced at the clock on the wall, but it didn't appear to move at all. She hoped it was broken, since the alternate explanation was that she was banished into a timeless limbo of suffering.

She wanted to relieve her boredom and aggravation by venting on her fellow students, but she was almost certain Kim wouldn't do that. Instead, she tried to distract herself by doodling in Kim's notebook. Why had she agreed to this? Oh, right, to use her selfless sacrifice as a leverage to guilt Kim into becoming Shego for a while. The idea of her do-gooder girlfriend as a reluctant criminal was irresistible to her. She just hadn't realized how much suffering she'd volunteered for. No wonder she kept having nightmares about being back in high school. Clearly her subconscious remembered the trauma her conscious mind had suppressed.

Whatever the class was about, Shego had no recollection of having learned it before, nor did it appear to have any bearing on real life. Why were the students subjected to this? Shego had always supposed her wanting to be a teacher was a remnant from a much younger, more nurturing her, from before she was seduced into a criminal lifestyle, but now she wondered if maybe the career aspiration had been an early sign of evil tendencies. She glanced at the clock again and still could not tell if it had moved or not. She slumped over the table and buried her head in her arms. Predictably, that prompted the teacher to pick on her. She groaned as she tried to figure out what the question was about.

* * *

"I thought the class would never end. I was convinced I was going to die in there."

"It wasn't that bad." Monique rolled her eyes at her.

"You don't know that. You weren't there."

"I have that class, too, uh, Kim."

"I don't know why I agreed to this. There's still half the day left. How do you people do it?"

"You're just lazy and irresponsible. Most of us are here because we actually want an education."

"That sounds like something K... I would say."

"Look, just concentrate on how grateful your girl will be. Just bite the bullet and get through it."

Ron arrived and planted himself down at the table. "Oh, man, I thought I was gonna die in there. It was like that class was never going to end."

Shego looked at Ron, then back at Monique who was quietly laughing. "Just shoot me now. This day can not get any worse."

"I don't know, you haven't touched your food yet."

Shego looked down at her tray. There was an indistinct lump of something on it. Her stomach heaved.

"Do you people actually eat this?"

"Not if we can help it."

"Don't listen to her, Sheee... I mean KP. The cafeteria food is the test of courage that separates the men from the boys. Uh, I mean..."

Shego decided she could safely ignore Kim's bumbling sidekick. "Why didn't I bring a lunch?"

"I don't know. Why didn't you?"

"K... she assured me that I didn't need any, since I could eat at the..." Shego trailed off. "Oh, she is evil." Which would come in quite handy once she assumed Shego's duties.

"Uh, no. You are evil."

"Just shut up and eat."

* * *

Monique offered to walk Shego to her next class. Shego acquiesced, as her first day back at high school had managed to do something the school never had the first time: it had broken her. Two teenaged boys—of course they were teenaged, what else would they be, in high school—checked them out as they passed them in the hall. Their eyes lingered on her, especially. Had they been adults, she might have felt flattered.

"You know, she never told me how popular she was with guys." Or maybe Kim just had never noticed because she wasn't interested in them.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, all the guys keep checking me out, including half the teachers. She never mentioned she was the local sex symbol. I guess it makes sense, though, with her being a smart, athletic, pretty and popular cheerleader, and a celebrity to boot."

"Uh, that's not it. She doesn't get that much attention."

"Hmm, that's not what I've observed."

"You really don't know why that is? I thought you were doing it on purpose."

"Doing what on purpose?"

"Look, she is a mostly innocent teenager, and a little awkward when it comes to some things. You are more mature and quite comfortable in your skin. And her skin, I suppose."

"I'm not sure I follow you."

"You're strutting your stuff in a way she never did. I guess that's just how you are, but with the way you carry yourself, you look like the very definition of a naughty schoolgirl; especially in that getup. It's no wonder guys are all over you."

"Oh. I didn't realize. Maybe I need to tone that down?"

"Unless you are determined to give K... uh, develop an entirely new reputation, I guess you'd better."

"Duh. I don't want to encourage any competition for when we get switched back."

"Wow, I didn't realize you were that serious. I guess you being here should have been a clue."

"Serious? Who's serious? I just don't like to share my toys, is all."

"Uh-huh."

"Whatever. I have a class to go to. Oh, god, I'm only half-way through this nightmare."

"Not quite half-way. You also have cheer practice after classes."

"Dammit. I almost forgot. Can I forget?"

"You never forget the practice. You might occasionally skip it for a mission."

"Yes! The truth, justice, and all that jazz. It's much more important than silly cheer practice, even if there are pretty teen girls in skimpy clothing. There's probably going to be a mission. The way she talks she's jetting around the globe pretty much nonstop."

"You know, they might be a teensy bit more selective with the missions right now, given the circumstances."

"No, I'm pretty sure there's going to be a mission. In fact, I probably won't even get through the class before I get the call."

"Did she even give you the Kimmunicator?"

"Dammit!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Kim Possible was undergoing a very strange experience: she was sitting on a couch at home, with nothing to do. That was even weirder than doing it in Shego's body. She was tempted to call up Wade again and ask how the search for a solution was going, even though she knew he would contact her the second he had something. She resisted the urge. There probably hadn't been any developments since her last call twenty minutes ago, anyway.

She couldn't leave the house looking like Shego. She was a wanted criminal, after all. She could have exercised, maybe, but that wouldn't do her much good if she wasn't in her own body. She probably should take care of Shego's body while she was in it, but she wasn't sure what kind of regime she usually followed, or if her powers meant there were special requirements. There was also the problem that her own clothes didn't fit this curvier body, and Shego hadn't had anything with her apart from the one set of her catsuit. She was currently wearing her mother's clothes which somewhat fit, but she didn't want to do any strenuous activity in them.

There were, admittedly, some things she could do with Shego's body that didn't require clothes, but the presence of her mother precluded them. Much against Kim's protestations she had insisted on taking a day off to keep an eye on her. They might have made a mother-daughter day out of it, but Kim was too stressed out by the circumstances, and her mother seemed to be a little uncomfortable around her. Kim thought it was understandable, given that she looked like her own worst enemy. Who was also her secret lesbian lover, but her mother certainly didn't need to know that part. At any rate, her mother had elected to take the opportunity to catch up on some paper work, leaving Kim by her lonesome.

"I'm soooo booooored."

"Well, the lawn needs mowing." Kim was startled by her mother choosing that moment to make an appearance.

"It's also out there, in plain view of the neighbors. Not a good idea."

"Eh, no-one would recognize you if you wore a hoodie."

"I'm not sure you're taking this seriously, mom."

"Could you call me Ann?"

"Why?" Kim looked at her mother, puzzled.

"You don't really look like my daughter, or sound like her."

"But I am your daughter."

"I... I don't really know how to say this... I've had some time to think about this, and I'm not sure you are."

"Mom, how can you even say something like that?"

"Look, this machine, it's clear it did something to you, the results from the brain scans confirm that; but I'm not sure what it was."

"It switched our brains around."

"No, it didn't. The brain that is in your skull is the same one that's always been there. Trust me, I know what it would take to get it out. And nobody knows how to connect it back up."

"Well... then it rewrote them somehow. It's me in here, and Shego is in my body."

"I believe that you believe that."

"Mom..."

"Maybe... maybe the machine brainwashed you to believe you are Kim. That's really all it would need to do to make Drakken's plan work."

Kim could feel tears coming to her eyes. How could her mother reject her like this? She fought the tears back, focusing on the need to convince her mother she was herself. Or rather, that she wasn't.

"No, mom, stop. I have all my memories, and none of Shego's. Ask me anything only your daughter would know."

"Hmm. You certainly seem familiar with the layout of the house, even if you can't remember where the cookware is kept."

"You know I'm not any good in the kitchen." Kim looked to the side, embarrassed.

"What I was getting at is that the machine seems to be able to transfer memories. Any one thing I ask you might just be among them. I'd have to interrogate you all day to make sure. And none of us have perfect recall, we might remember same events differently. I'm not sure that would work."

"Aren't our memories what make us? If I have all my memories, that makes me Kim, right?"

"We don't really know just what makes up someone's personality. Experiences are certainly one thing, but there are also hereditary factors, temperament and the like. And hormonal balance. Even if you really think you are Kim in there, just having a different body should make a difference. At least it's a woman's body."

"Actually, now that you mention it..." Kim's voice trailed off and her face gained color.

"Yes?"

"I didn't really notice until you brought it up, since it's more of an absence, but... uh."

"Go on."

Kim couldn't bring herself to continue. Her face, or rather, Shego's, was beet red.

"No raging teenage hormones?" Her mom seemed much too amused. Kim just looked at Shego's toes. "Hmm, I wonder how Shego is dealing with them."

Shego's eyes widened in alarm. Kim didn't think she was very horny, judging against stereotypes of teens, but she knew she was usually a little friskier than Shego. How would Shego deal with it? She had cheer practice today. She'd be in a locker room with half a dozen hot teenage girls. Shego had assured her she wasn't going to play around, but Kim knew the villain was not entirely trustworthy, or resolute in the face of temptation.

"Maybe I should go check on her? Just to make sure everything is fine." And maybe on the way she could figure out if she was more concerned about Shego messing around, or doing it in her body.

"She has a phone, right? I'm sure Shego will be fine. She promised to not ruin your reputation, after all." Kim's mother still had a teasing smile on her face.

"Shego? Then you believe it really is her in my body? And me in hers?"

"I guess I'll accept that for the time being. I don't know how the machine could possibly have achieved that, but you do seem like my daughter."

Kim launched herself at her mother and wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Still, maybe a little less hugging until you are back in your own body?"

Kim pulled back a little to look her mother in the eye. "Still not comfortable with me looking like this?"

"Uh, yeah, something like that." She looked away, and Kim could see her cheeks were tinted red. She wasn't sure what she'd done, but she smiled a little anyway. It wasn't every day she managed to make her mother embarrassed.

* * *

"I'm home!" Kim's voice announced as the redhead barged into the upstairs bedroom of Kim Possible.

"Not that I'm not happy to see me, but why are you here already? Did you forget the cheer practice?"

"No. I just delegated and got out of there."

"Shego! You can't do that. I'm the captain, and I—"

"Yeah, and I'm not. I was never a cheerleader in high school, and I have no idea how it works. Would you really have preferred me to make a fool out of you?"

"But I taught you the routine yesterday!"

"Kimmie, I hate to tell you this, but I was just humoring you. There's no way I was going to learn that in an evening. Sorry."

"You can't just walk out on them. The regionals are coming, and..."

"And there's nothing I can do about that. So when the hot brunette got in my face with her suggestions, I told her to put up or shut up."

"You put Bonnie in charge? Please, anyone but her. She's my biggest rival."

"Yeah, sorry to burst your bubble, but there's no rivalry. She's definitely bigger than you." Shego looked down at Kim's chest. "Well, not right now, I suppose." She cupped her breasts for emphasis.

"Shego!"

"Relax, they're mine. Anyway, I told her we can use her routine if she can teach it to everyone, but that I wasn't going to stick around for it. I could tell she really, really wanted to be in charge, so I told them the cute blonde was acting captain."

"Tara?" Kim smiled. "Ooh, I bet that pissed her off."

"You don't even know. Or maybe you do. She started sputtering, so I waved her goodbye and got out of there."

"I kinda thought you might have liked to watch the cheer practice." She was a little annoyed, but also relieved, that Shego had left early.

"I kinda thought so too, but after eight hours of hell, I didn't want to spend one extra minute at that school."

"Still, the regionals are just a few days away, and we need my routine to win. If we're going to be stuck like this any longer, we need to find a way to make sure the squad learns it. Maybe if I wear a disguise..."

"No. Wearing a disguise to infiltrate a high school locker room is stuff that gets you on lists. Vetoed."

"Aren't you kinda doing that right now, though?"

"Not as far as anyone knows."

"Maybe if you wear a mic and an earpiece, and I talk you through it?"

"Sounds like material for an amusing comedy, but I'm going to veto that too. That Cyrano thing never works, Kimmie. You're just going to have to accept that until we get our situation fixed, you won't factor into the regionals. Oh, I also had to drop one of your clubs. How can you possibly find time for all of your extracurriculars?"

"Anything is possible for a Possible; you just need to be organized and efficient." Kim recited the family motto almost reflexively, then gave Shego a stern stare. "You can't just resign me from everything, Shego. That wasn't our agreement."

"Our agreement was I wouldn't make you look bad. It was a judgment call on which would make you look more bad, not knowing what was going on, or explaining you were currently too busy. I'm sure they'll be happy to take you back once we get this situation sorted."

"Fine. I guess I'll have to live with it."

"I don't know what you're complaining about. You still haven't done a damn thing to uphold your part of the bargain."

"Well, technically I haven't done anything that would hurt your reputation."

"Don't be too sure. Your boss is probably wondering where you are."

"He's not my boss!"

"He is now."

"Oh, god. I can't do this. I can't."

"That's pretty much my daily mantra working for him. You're doing fine."

"You're a great comfort."

"Better get used to the idea. Because tomorrow, you are going to head to the lair."

"At least it's not today."

"Of course not. Today you need to do the homework."

"I just want you to know that this is a really unfair arrangement."

"What do you mean? I went to high school, again, for your sake. School! Now I know why I still have nightmares about it."

"Hey, you volunteered for it."

"That's because I'm a caring girlfriend."

"Are you?" Shego's voice was softer. "My girlfriend?"

"I don't see why else I would go to all this trouble."

"Aww." Kim smiled at herself fondly.

"Please don't do that with my face."

"You could stand to smile more. You have a very pretty smile. Well, I guess I have it right now."

"Now, when you go to work," Shego said, apparently determined to ignore Kim, "remember that Dr. D is my boss, but he's a total pushover. Don't let him rope you into anything I wouldn't do."

"What do you do, anyway? Usually you just seem to lounge around until I show up."

"That's me being on call in case heroes attack. I also steal stuff for him."

"I don't want to do that."

"I don't want to go to school again."

"That's so not the same."

"Well, the good news is that you might not have to. He's probably still moping about, and it will usually be a while until he gets his next brainwave. Incidentally, remember that mocking his terrible ideas is a perk of the job."

"I'll keep that in mind." If she kept shooting his ideas down, maybe she'd be able to avoid having to do anything blatantly illegal. It was a good thing that hanging out with Ron had let her hone the skill of delivering sarcastic asides. She usually held back with Ron, not wanting to be too mean, but she wouldn't need to do that with Dr. Drakken.

"Also, Dr. D believes we have a written contract, and that he's misplaced his copy. You can use this to claim other little perks and dodge annoying chores. If all else fails, threaten him with physical violence."

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that." Kim suddenly learned what it would be like if her reflection gave her a flat stare.

"Kimmie, you threaten him with violence every other week."

"Oh. Right. But that's not the same."

"But you really should reserve that for times when he's totally out of line. Like if he suggests cloning."

"What's your problem with clones, anyway?"

"Do you have any idea of what it's like to deal with someone who looks just like you, but isn't you?"

This time Kim treated Shego to a flat mirror stare.

"Okay, that was a stupid question under the circumstances."

The conversation paused as Shego seemed to have run out of steam.

"I'm really not sure if I can do this."

"You'll be fine, Kim." Shego took her hands into Kim's and leaned forward, hesitated a while, and pulled back. "Yeah, turns out I'm not quite that narcissistic."

Kim knew what she meant. She wasn't sure she wanted to kiss herself either. "We so need to get this sorted out."

"Amen. And hey, look on the bright side: you'll be in place to pick Dr. D's brain about the machine."

"I guess there is that. Maybe I'll find something to speed things up."

Kim's spirit was reviving. She could do this. After all, she could do anything.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Kim Possible approached the squat building on the outskirts of a small town that housed the HenchCo time-share lair which Shego had said was Dr. Drakken's current fallback position. Following Shego's advice she had left the hover car in the covert Shego had previously prepared in a clearing in the woods surrounding the town.

Kim made for a side door, which was secured with a simple lock. She didn't have the key to the lock, so she went to pick it with a hair pin before she realized she wasn't sure if she had any on her. She did have Shego's tool pouch, however, so she picked it with an actual lock pick instead.

Kim entered the building and dropped the bag of clothes she'd picked up from Shego's place on one of the large boxes lining the walls of the large space she found herself in. She popped in to inspect the little break room opening into the large hall. It was empty. She walked through the other doorway in the hall that lead to the heart of the lair. Dr. Drakken was standing before a large display screen, working the controls. Well, it was too late to back down now. Kim steeled herself, took a deep breath, and approached him.

"Whatcha working on, Doc?"

Dr. Drakken jumped into the air with a high-pitched scream. "Shego! How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?"

"I don't know. How many?"

"Plenty. Don't do it again."

"I wasn't really even trying to be quiet. You just weren't paying attention."

"Ninjas make more noise than you do, Shego."

"So what are you working on? The new plan?" The sooner she learned what it was, the sooner she could start shooting it down.

"Uh... I was trying to get the cable."

Kim looked at him. He looked back at her. She blinked.

"Right, carry on, Dr. D. Where's my room?"

"Where it's always been, Shego. You don't think I'm going to move things around, do you? That's a job for the henchmen." Yes, that was probably something Shego wouldn't need to ask. At least he didn't seem to suspect anything was amiss.

"Where are all the henchmen?"

"Bah, personnel is your department. Maybe you should get on it now that you're finally here."

"I'll get right on it, Doc."

Kim turned away and walked back into the hall where she'd entered the lair. She pulled out her phone and chose the contact marked only with an 'S', which didn't stand for 'sex' no matter what Shego insisted. She had to wait a while until the call was answered by a voice that sounded exactly like she did on recordings.

"Hi, I'm a naughty schoolgirl who takes calls during class."

Well, maybe not exactly like her.

"You're not talking in the class, are you?"

"I took a bathroom break. Not that I'm not grateful to have an excuse to get out of class for a while, but did you need something?"

"I couldn't just call because I missed you?"

"Not during school you wouldn't."

"You have a point. No, I needed to ask you something. Which one's your room, and how do I go about hiring henchmen?"

"My room's the... wait, you're seriously going to get some henchmen?"

"Dr. Drakken wanted me to get on it. Or is this one of those things where I should just ignore him?"

"No! No, you definitely should get on it right away. Ideally you'd like to hire from HenchCo, but Dr. D's too cheap for it, and, well, Jack Hench doesn't really like us that much, anyway."

"Would that be because you never pay him and keep stealing his stuff?"

"Conceivably. Anyway, you need to go to other sources, but I'd still recommend sticking with union labor. You so don't want the headache that comes from crossing them. There's contact details for a disreputable agency I have an account with on my work laptop. It should be pretty easy, but call me if you need help, and I'll walk you through it. There's also my notes on some of the regulars. Payments are processed through the agency, Dr. D's account information is also on the laptop."

"Wow, you're more organized than I thought."

"Hey, I didn't start half-assing my job until I realized Dr. D couldn't tell the difference."

"I'm in awe of your work ethic. Do I need to know some passwords?"

"Nah, my browser remembers them. You have the password for the laptop, right? I'm sorry I didn't remember to change it before I gave it to you."

"It's fine, I have the note. Now, which one's your room?"

"The living quarters are on a short corridor opening from the central room. The one I've used is right at the end, you can't miss it. Make sure it's clean before you touch anything; I think Dementor's guys used the time-share last. And make sure there are no cameras."

"Ugh. Thanks, I'll call you back if I need help with anything."

"Please do. Have fun!"

"Thanks, you too." When Kim ended the call she thought she heard Shego grumbling something.

* * *

Kim picked up the bag and headed back towards the center of the lair. Dr. Drakken was still absorbed in his task as Kim passed through the room. She hadn't remembered to ask which end of the corridor the room was at, but she assumed it was probably the one that had 'Shego' carved over the door in slightly scorched letters.

The room was fairly large, but spartan. There was a desk, some chairs, a wardrobe, and a bare bed. Kim put the bag on the bed and took out Shego's laptop. She set up at the desk and fished out the note with the password as the laptop booted up. The password was one of those collections of symbols Wade liked, though not quite as long: "|{1|v| i$ m'/ B43". Kim had half expected it to be 'cat' or 'password' or something like that, but apparently Shego took security more seriously than that. It took her a moment to find the right keys.

The agency's site on InTerrorNet was commendably well laid-out, and Shego's account included a transaction history to give her a template. She had never appreciated how easy it was to hire cheap muscle, but that did explain how most villains she faced always seemed to have an abundant supply of it. Kim had seen two rooms with six bunk beds each, so the lair had fair space for henchmen, but she decided to start with just four. Shego's notes were mostly comments on the henchmen's appearance and personal hygiene, and speculations on their sexual fetishes. Kim selected from the ones with fewest unflattering remarks to their name.

Kim spent some more time browsing the illegal market sites and villain forums on the InTerrorNet. She'd only gotten glimpses of it over Shego's shoulder before—Shego having been of the opinion that it was none of her damn business—and she was curious. The forums were, despite the topics, very similar to any other online forums, and she quickly grew bored of them. The online stores offered a startling variety of products and services, most of them, of course, quite illegal. Some descriptions used obvious code words, and Kim wasn't sure she even wanted to know what goods they really advertised.

Fascinated as she was by her first good look at InTerrorNet, Kim decided she could explore it later. She still hadn't inspected all of the lair, and at the very least she needed to locate where the bedclothes were stored if she wanted to make a bed for tonight. She squared her shoulders, adopted what she hoped was a Shego-like stance, and headed out of the room.

* * *

In the end Kim was happy she had opted for only a handful of henchmen. After a thorough inspection she had discovered to her dismay that the time-share lair contained only one bathroom with a total of one shower. At least there was also a second, single-occupant toilet. She assumed Dr. Drakken's own lairs tended to be better equipped, given how expansive some of them could be. The shower, at least, was fairly nice. Kim decided to take advantage of the lair being mostly empty for a while yet by ending her day with a long, luxuriant shower, as befit the role she was playing. Once she made sure no one had left cameras behind, of course.

Kim carefully locked the bathroom door and started to strip out of the green and black catsuit. She realized she was actually undressing Shego's body and paused when a naughty thought occurred to her. There was a large, full-body mirror in the bathroom, and Kim moved to face it. She took two steps back so she could see Shego's entire body in the mirror. She bit her lip—Shego's lip—in anticipation.

Kim began to remove the clinging costume once more, but this time she did it slowly, sensually, watching her borrowed body in the mirror all the while. Watching her lover's body move to her commands was a surreal feeling—surreal and erotic. Shego really had a body to die for. She hadn't even made it to the shower yet, and she was already getting wet.

Kim swayed Shego's hips from side to side as she worked the tight garment past them, never taking her eyes off the mirror. She slipped her arms free from the sleeves while continuing to gyrate her hips. She was worked up enough that she wanted to rush to the end right away, but she decided to savor the experience for all it was worth, and the picture wasn't quite right. She pulled the costume back over the hips, covering Shego's panties, and moved her hands to the sports bra.

She did her best with the bra, but it just wasn't designed for strip tease. Sliding it slowly up to free Shego's bounteous breasts was hot enough, but she lost the rhythm while wrangling the article of clothing over her head and Shego's voluminous hair. Once she was finally free from it, she spent some time playing with her hair, admiring the way the pose displayed her borrowed assets.

She let her hands slowly slide down Shego's body, back down to her hips. She bent forwards as she eased the costume past the rounded hips, staring at the hypnotic sway of Shego's bosom. Kim swallowed to ease the feeling of dryness in Shego's mouth. The outfit was tight enough that the legs wouldn't slide down without being pushed. She didn't see a way to accomplish it very erotically, so she just bent further forward while keeping Shego's legs straight until the garment was bunched up at her ankles. Maybe she should have turned around for that part? She could try that the next time.

Kim had to sit down to extricate herself from the costume without falling over, and that part wasn't terribly sexy. She got up on her knees, using the catsuit as padding against the cold tiles, and moved her hands up and down Shego's body. Now there were only the panties left, and there was a prominent dark spot on them. Kim ever so slowly slid them down, revealing the dark patch of carefully trimmed hair. She thrilled when she realized she was now responsible for its grooming. Lower and lower the delicate panties slid, until she had to rock back a little to get them past her knees and to her ankles. Shego's entire body was now revealed to her in the mirror. She slid her legs further apart. She was quite certain she wasn't doing anything Shego wouldn't want her to do to her naked body as her fingers explored it.

Kim rose to Shego's feet in a movement that was a little shaky rather than sinuous, and stepped out of the panties. Shego's silken skin was covered in thin layer of sweat, and a familiar intoxicating mix of scents filled her nostrils. Kim wasted no more time in getting to the shower. She quickly adjusted the temperature to where she liked it, and grabbed the shower head to direct the stream of water where it was most urgently needed.

* * *

Kim basked lazily in the stream of warm falling water, feeling simultaneously dirty and clean, and very, very relaxed. She tried not to feel guilty about how much warm water she was using. If the facility was designed for a score or so people, there was probably no danger of it running out, and she doubted the real Shego would have cared either way. Right now this arrangement didn't feel so bad, after all. She decided she needed to tease Shego with the details of her shower. She wondered if Shego had done something similar at her end, and the thought got her excited again. Well, there was no reason to not go again.

"Shego, are you still in there? Other people need to use the shower too, you know."

Unless something ruined the mood, of course. Kim suddenly understood why Shego was so often tempted to direct her Glow at her boss.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Shego watched herself leave for work. It was a very peculiar experience, and not just because she was leaving through the back door. She looked even more awkward than she felt. Shego sensed Kim wanted to give her one final hug, or maybe a kiss, but that wasn't going to happen with her mother standing right next to them. She was left fidgeting nervously, which didn't look natural on either of them.

"Well, I'm off. You be good now."

"You be bad."

"I'm not... uh, I suppose I'd better?"

"But not too bad," Dr. Possible said.

"I'll do my best. Or is it worst?"

"Just get in the damn hover car, already."

"Language, Ki—Shego. Or should I just call you Kim now?"

"Call me anything you want, but don't call me late for dinner. Especially since you are now responsible for feeding me."

"Shego, you promised not to hurt my reputation. I'm too young to make dad jokes."

"That _was_ something I'd expect to hear from my husband more than from my daughter."

"Philistines, the both of you. Just get going already, Kimmie. That's my reputation on the line."

Finally Kim was gone in Shego's body, leaving Shego in Kim's staring at her mother, who was staring at the quickly receding vehicle in the sky. Something in her expression prompted Shego to provide uncharacteristic reassurance. "She'll be fine."

"I know she can handle herself. I'm just worried she might prove to be a little too good at being bad. She can get carried away sometimes."

"We can only hope."

"I don't think we are hoping for the same things."

"I certainly hope not."

"Are you looking to get on my nerves? I can ground you, young lady."

"You are not my mother."

"You still don't want to test me." Dr. Possible looked at her with her head tilted. "Do you have a mother, though?"

"Not anymore." Shego hoped she would leave it at that. "So, are you going to stay here to watch me?"

"No, I need to get back to work. I might see you out the door, first."

"It's almost like you don't trust me, Mrs. Dr. P."

"I can't imagine why that might be." Dr. Possible sighed. "But since my daughter has decided to trust you, I'm afraid I'm just going to have to live with it."

Shego got the uncomfortable feeling that she was referring to more than just the current situation. "Yeah. Well, I guess I need to get ready to play her, again."

"Not enjoying your return to school?"

"No. By the way, when I get back, I'm moving into her room."

"Are you, now?"

"Yes. I'm pretending to be your daughter; all the things I need are in her room. It's ridiculous for me to stay in the guest room."

"I suppose that makes some sense. But where will Kim sleep when she's here, then?"

"She can have the guest room, obviously." Though her bed was plenty big enough for both of them.

"Mm. Obviously."

Shego scrutinized Dr. Possible. Kim had thought she might suspect them. Shego wasn't quite sure, but she knew when an expeditious exit was expedient. "Oh, look, I need to leave for school now."

* * *

Shego joined Monique and Ron as they were headed for the cafeteria. "You'd think it would get easier. How do you people face this every single day?"

"As I'm sure Kim would be the first to tell you, most of us actually want to be here. Getting that high school diploma is essential for our futures."

"Ha! Like this pointless charade will be useful for anything."

"Didn't you say you had a degree in education?"

"Maybe, but I'm not currently being paid to lie to children."

"I think She... uh, KP makes an excellent point."

"Ron, don't listen to her."

"But KP told me to listen to everything she says."

"Did she mean herself, or her?"

"Uh, I don't follow."

"Yeah, I don't think I can do much damage to him."

"Let's just get some food. I notice you didn't bring lunch this time, either."

Shego doubted Kim spent a lot of time yelling her frustration at the cafeteria ceiling, but she felt she would have understood.

* * *

Shego left the school with Monique. Somehow she had survived the second day of her second time at high school; she wasn't sure how many more she could manage. There had been one solitary bright spot in the day.

"She called me, during class."

"Really? That doesn't sound like her. Did she run into trouble already?"

"I think she just needed some reassurance. She's getting into the spirit of things."

"I'm not sure that's good news."

"Oh, no, it is definitely very good news. It means my suffering hasn't been in vain."

"Going to school for two days isn't suffering."

"Oh yeah? You try it." Monique didn't look impressed. "I mean, once you've been out for a few y—uh, for a while. Anyway! I need retail therapy, and Kimmie needs a new wardrobe."

"You're not going to bail on me again?"

"I didn't bail on you, I just wasn't in any shape to spend any more time around teenagers, yesterday."

"So naturally you ran straight for your teenage girlfriend."

"She doesn't count."

"But she is your girlfriend, then."

"Uh... she's... Clothes! Let's go, already."

They got in the atrocious car Kim had left for her use while she got Shego's hover car in return. Shego felt the terms of their role-reversal were entirely unfair. She followed Monique's directions to the local mall. As they entered the building among the afternoon crowd, Shego realized there was at least one positive aspect to the situation: being in Kim's body let her go out without worrying about anyone recognizing her.

"I recognize you!"

"Uh..." Shego had to fight down a sudden fight-or-flight response—mostly fight, in her case. No one was about to try to arrest her. Someone just thought they recognized her.

"You're Kim Possible!"

The look of adoration in the teen girl's eyes left Shego a little unnerved. That wasn't a look she received often. "Yes, that is who I definitely am."

"You aren't from Middleton, are you, sugar?" Monique gave Shego an admonishing look from the corner of her eye. "We don't usually make such a big deal out of it here."

"Oh, I'm sorry... But the way you rescued those stranded cougars was just so cool!"

"Uh... no big?"

"Weren't you scared at all?"

"Not at all. Cougars can seem like scary predators at first, but once you get to know them better they can be very fun company."

"I wonder if you two are talking about the same thing?"

"Can... can I have your autograph?"

"I'll trade you one for your phone number." Shego belatedly realized that was a bad idea. She hadn't had the occasion to learn to forge Kim's signature yet. She probably should practice that at some point.

And yes, it was also quite possible Kim didn't collect her fans' numbers. At least Shego hadn't found any evidence of a little black book yet.

"Uh..."

"Here you go." Monique produced a signed photo of Kim from her pocket and handed it to the girl. "I'm terribly sorry, but we really need to get to shopping now."

"Oh, yeah, sure. Thanks! I won't forget this."

Shego found herself being steered away from the scene. "Does she actually make you handle her PR?"

"No, but I figured neither of you thought about it, so I had her sign a bunch of photos before she left, just in case. This happens sometimes."

"Damn. She should make you handle her PR."

"Usually it happens without her trying to score a date, though."

"Hey, Kimmie's fans are way cuter than mine."

"I understood you were supposed to protect her reputation, not to try to give her a brand new one."

"Here I am, busting my butt trying to improve her game, and all I get is criticism."

"You realize she isn't out, right? Come to think of it, neither are you."

"Which explains her pathetic dating history. Does she have a dating history?"

"She's dated a few guys. What about you?"

"I dated a few guys too, before I wised up. Club Banana, huh? At least you have some taste."

"Kim shops here too, you know."

"You couldn't really tell by looking."

"Her fashion sense isn't that bad, when she puts effort into it. It's mostly her mission clothes that are a little..."

"More than a little."

"But anyway, let's find something that looks good on her."

"You know, this is actually really convenient," Monique said as Shego studied a blouse in the mirror. "It's much easier to shop for a friend when you can bring their body with you."

"It is. Remind me to send you shopping for me with Kim—me." Monique did have a good eye.

"New nickname?"

"I'm just trying to get out of habit of using her name, but Kim-Me has a certain ring to it. I'm not sure which one of us that should be, though."

"It does get confusing."

"You don't know the half of it. Every time I look into a mirror I just want to ravish myself."

"I don't think I need to know this part."

"And her reflection looking like she wants to ravish me just makes me hornier. It's getting to be a real problem."

"You seem a little... pent up."

"I blame her hormones. Frankly, I don't see how she manages to get so much done if this is how she feels all the time."

"It probably helps she doesn't usually see her hot girlfriend in the mirror."

"There is that." Shego paused in thought. "Ooh, mirrors... we could do it with mirrors."

Monique made a show of putting her hands over her ears. "Seriously, I don't need to know this part."

"Still," Shego said, studying their haul, "we've done pretty well today."

"Ready to call it a day?"

"Not quite, let's go pick up some lingerie first. There are so many things I want to see this body in." And out of.

"Are you sure that's wise in your condition? I don't think she would appreciate hearing she got arrested for public indecency."

"Hey, it's not like I can't delay my gratification."

"Well, according to her... hold on a sec, it's my phone. Why is Wade calling me?" Monique looked at Shego as she answered the phone. "Yeah, she's here, let me put you on speaker."

"Something's come up," came Wade's voice from the phone. "How would you like to go on a mission?"

"I don't know, there's set of lacy und... that is to say I'm a little busy right now."

"You were begging for a mission earlier," Monique said.

"That's because I was in school and bored out of my mind. I'm good right now."

"Kim would do it."

"Kimmie would help old ladies cross the road."

"If you do a good job on this one, there might be more coming later. Maybe even emergencies that would require you to be pulled out of class."

"Why are you trying to sell this so hard? I'm not going to like it, am I?"

"Well, it's from a category Kim said is alright to give you. It is a test of sorts. There is her reputation to consider."

"Ungh. Fine. Is this going to take long?"

"Probably not. It's local. Let me just give you the coordinates.

"This better be worth my time."

Despite her words, Shego couldn't help feeling a little excited. She didn't long for her hero days, but she wasn't opposed to taking a quick dip into Kim's life every now and then. At least a mission was more fun than classes.

* * *

Shego stared at the reason she was alerted for. Monique stood by her, doing an impressive job of maintaining a solemn expression appropriate for her first mission as Kim Possible.

"It's a cat."

"Yes, it is."

"In a tree."

"Yes. Here's your hairdryer grapple gun. Now go be a hero."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Kim Possible woke up in Shego's bed. This was not an entirely unprecedented event, although usually she was not alone in it, and it was not inside one of Dr. Drakken's lairs. Kim reflected that, sometimes, her life wasn't entirely ordinary. Most high-school girls weren't allowed sleepovers in evil lairs, let alone in the middle of a school week.

Kim sat up and ran her hands down Shego's body. This wasn't an unprecedented event, either, but usually the body also housed Shego's mind rather than Kim's. The room was very dark; evil lairs, even timeshare versions on the outskirts of small towns, rarely had many windows. Kim switched on Shego's power. It didn't light up the room as much as Kim had expected, but the eerie, wavering glow was enough to let her locate the light switch. Kim even remembered to reach for it with the hand that wasn't wreathed in a field of destructive force.

Kim changed out of Shego's pajamas and put on fresh underwear. She shivered with a naughty thrill as she pulled up the panties, realizing they were Shego's. The she remembered she was technically putting them on Shego's body rather than hers, and she wasn't sure if that made it more or less exciting. She worked her way into Shego's catsuit. She didn't think she needed a shower, as she'd had one last night. She also didn't think she should leave the room until the blushing brought on by that particular memory subsided. Since she was pretending to be Shego certain naughtiness was only appropriate, right?

Kim grabbed her bathroom kit and walked out of the room. She paused to press her ear against the door to Dr. Drakken's room, and thought she heard snoring. It seemed she still had the lair to herself for a while. She headed for the bathroom and discovered that Shego's suit, while stylish, was very inconvenient when one needed to use the toilet.

She also realized that she needed to make an addition to her mourning routine. She usually didn't use cosmetics that much, but the face that looked back at her from the mirror wasn't right for Shego, not without the trademark dark make-up. Luckily she had the tools to remedy the situation, and she had made a close study of Shego's face; she didn't think many people knew it better. Once she was satisfied with her work, she walked out of the bathroom, feeling strangely confident.

* * *

Kim wasn't sure what to do with her time. Shego assured her that she had lots of work to keep her occupied, but as far as Kim could tell, she spent much of her time lounging about. It would be a very Shego thing to do, but it really didn't come naturally for Kim. There was still no sign of Dr. Drakken. Perhaps this would be a good time to snoop around. Kim cautiously worked her way to the large computer console in the main room. Just because she believed the lair to be empty wasn't a reason to be reckless.

The system was on, though the main view screen was not. Kim turned it on and was confronted with an incomprehensible telenovela. Apparently Dr. Drakken had eventually got the cable working. Kim muted the sound so it wouldn't alert the evil mastermind. There would be other opportunities to practice her Spanish.

After a few tries Kim figured out how to use the system and set out to explore the directory structure. She found a promising-looking one named 'scrt_pln', inside of which was nothing but another directory. After working her way through a dozen nested directories she found a text file that instructed Shego to mind her own business. This was also true for the next directory tree she tried, and she began to suspect Shego's tendency to vex her boss had dried up this particular well of information.

Kim also suspected Dr. Drakken's idea of what a computer system looked like had been set in stone back in his college days; she hadn't seen anything this ancient since the days her dad taught her to use a computer. It was possible this wasn't even the real system. Kim groaned in frustration. She restored the system to the state she had found it in and turned the main screen off.

Suddenly a light on the console started blinking, accompanied by the sound of klaxons. Kim froze. Had her intrusion been detected? Would it seem suspicious, or could she play it off as a prank, or simple curiosity?

"Shego!" Kim whirled around to see Dr. Drakken standing in the doorway, wearing a nightshirt and a sleeping cap. He looked annoyed, if a little bleary-eyed.

"Uh... good morning, Dr. D?"

"Are you going to get the door?"

"The door?"

"Can't you hear the alarm?"

"Oh, you mean _that_ alarm. Yeah, yeah. I'm on it." Couldn't villains even have normal doorbells?

"Oh, if it's Pixie Scouts, you are authorized to buy cookies. Bacon and Chive, if they have any."

"I'll keep that in mind." Conceivably Dr. Drakken wasn't quite awake yet. Or maybe he was just being Dr. Drakken.

* * *

Kim took a few seconds to composed her face into a surly expression, then angrily opened the door. "What do you want?"

"To report for duty, Ma'am."

Kim eyed the four burly men at the door. She recognized three of them as the henchmen she had chosen. "Where's Bob?"

"Mandatory time off for hero-induced concussion symptoms. The agency sent Greg instead." The man Kim recognized as Trevor indicated a young, dull-looking man with his thumb. "He's a good kid. I mean, a bad kid."

"Why are you out of uniform?"

"Uh, we didn't want to attract attention around town. We'll change once we get inside."

"There's nobody around here. You could have changed before coming in. It would have shown some professionalism."

"Yes, Ma'am." The tone of voice was deferential, but Kim could tell he was humoring her.

"Just get inside."

Kim vacated the doorway so her new henchmen could file in. They seemed to know the routine. Which was good, because she didn't have any idea of what to do with them. Why had she hired them again? Dr. Drakken had asked for them; maybe he had something for them to do. Kim decided to investigate. She found Dr. Drakken in the small kitchen eating cereal, still in his nightshirt and bunny slippers.

"So, who was it, Shego?"

"The henchmen."

"Henchmen? What henchmen?"

"The henchmen you wanted?"

"Why would I want henchmen? My current plans have not yet progressed to a point where I need them."

"But you told me to... you know, never mind. Do you have anything you need them to be doing?"

"Coffee. Put Bob on it. He makes the best coffee."

"Bob's not here."

"You got henchmen and you didn't get Bob? What do I even pay you for?"

"I'll let you know once I figure it out. Later, Doc."

Well, so much for Dr. Drakken being any help. She'd just have to work things out on her own. She could do that. She could do anything; she was Kim Possible. Except she was Shego at the moment. Kinda. It was weird, but missions involving Dr. Drakken had a tendency to get weird. She just needed to handle it. Which was no big, since she could... maybe come up with a new catchphrase. She was starting to sound like a broken record even to herself. Who she wasn't at the moment.

Kim felt like she had a headache coming on. She wondered if punching Dr. Drakken would help.

* * *

What _did_ Shego do with all her downtime? Dr. Drakken didn't seem to have anything for her or the henchmen to do. He didn't seem to have anything to do, either. No wonder Shego spent so much time working on her tan, even though her pale green skin didn't actually tan at all as far as Kim could tell; at the very least Shego's body never had any tan lines. She hadn't packed a swimsuit, or sunlamps, anyway. She liked being pampered as much as the next girl, but maybe not for as long. Five minutes in the hands of a talented masseur, and she itched to do something.

Five minutes in the hands of a talented masseuse, and she itched to do someone.

Kim shook the image off. This was not the time or the place for such thoughts. Kim decided to check out her site, to see if there were maybe some more missions she could entrust to her counterpart. It was about time Shego did something as her, and no, school so totally didn't count. Especially since she didn't do the homework. She smirked as she recalled the first mission she had set up for the woman. She could be a little evil, too.

The thought of homework reminded her that she could check the virtual office they'd set up, but chances were very low that Shego had added any notes there she hadn't seen yet. There would be time enough in the afternoon, once the classes were over.

There were no missions she felt she could trust Shego with, and no missions that were important enough that she didn't have a choice. Was she sabotaging her own reputation by not sending Shego on any? No, she sometimes had quiet spells, and it wasn't like she had chosen to get stuck in Shego's body.

But this was not the time or the place for such thoughts. She decided to go get her henchmen organized.

* * *

It didn't take her long to run into a problem. The door to the room the henchmen had decided to use was closed. Barging in seemed rude, and there were four men in there, possibly in some state of undress. She had no desire to see that. On the other hand, they were her underlings, and she didn't think such considerations would stop Shego from just throwing the door open when she wished. Unless there were union rules about that sort of thing. Maybe she should have spent some time researching that. It wasn't something that had ever been of interest to her. She came in, beat the goons up, and packed them up for law enforcement officers to arrest.

Knocking didn't really seem like a Shego thing to do. She just opened the door and braced herself for what awaited inside.

It proved to be the sight of four men in red jumpsuits seated around a table, playing a card game. She couldn't tell what it was from her position, and she wasn't terribly familiar with many of them. She had tried poker for a little while, but had soon given it up from disgust at the outsized role luck played in it. You could calculate the odds of your hand holding up, and bet to maximize the expected value of your winnings, and yet someone completely oblivious to the finer points of the game could just hang on against all sense only to hit runner-runner to turn his utterly dominated starting hand into quads and crow about it with his stupid naked mole-rat for the rest of the evening.

The henchmen played on while Kim was paused in the doorway. "I play this Volcano and exploit it right away. That gives me enough Chaos Mana to summon this Doom Bat."

"Ooh, nice, man. Trevor only has melee monsters so that Immolation is gonna hurt."

Kim was pretty sure firing a blast right in the middle of the table would be a very Shego way to get their attention, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. "Will you stop playing that stupid game and pay attention for a moment?"

The men froze for a second, then wheeled around to look at her.

"Tom, I understand you know how to make food without poisoning everybody." Kim at least thought 'cooking not entirely inedible' meant he was a fair cook. "You're responsible for lunch and dinner."

"Uh, we were just settling who's cooking today." The men indicated the table.

"With a children's card game?"

"That's how real men settle things. Uh, Ma'am."

Kim stared at them for a moment. They stared back.

"You know what, fine, carry on. As long as there will be dinner a person can eat tonight."

"We'll take care of it, Ma'am."

Kim left them to their game. She suspected she'd undermined her authority by issuing a command and letting herself be overruled by mere henchmen, but there was clearly a longstanding arrangement here she had been unaware of. She really needed to pump Shego for more information. She'd give her a good tongue lashing while she was at it, for failing to adequately prepare her for the task at hand.

She had a mind to call Shego right away, but she was still in school. She was an hour ahead of her, too, which made waiting all the more unbearable. Apart from needing information, she really wanted to talk to her girlfriend. She needed something to distract herself with. How did Shego manage to pass the time with nothing constructive to do? Well, there were still things she could do. Probably. Almost certainly.

She'd figure out something.

* * *

The bag by the side of the bed beeped, and Kim dove for the bed, slid across the comforter, and thrust her arm into the bag. When she pulled it out, she was holding her phone. "Shego!"

"Hi, babe. I guess you missed me?"

"I was going out of my mind with boredom. I watched two B movies back to back with the henchmen because I had nothing else to do."

"Yeah, that happens. Did you enjoy the movies?"

"They weren't exactly French New Wave, you know?"

"I bet they had almost as many naked boobs in them, though."

"I would have enjoyed the boobs better if the scenes weren't so demeaning to women."

"You can try to introduce the guys to some tasteful lesbian erotica. Speaking of which: I found your porn stash."

"What? I don't have a porn stash."

"The stack of nude pictures of a busty redhead in your closet says otherwise."

"That... that's just a portfolio of a model I helped out once. I think I mentioned her to you."

"The Canadian one? You didn't mention you got her portfolio, too."

"She sent it to me as a thank you gift. It would have been rude to just throw it away."

"But you did hide it under your clothes."

"Well, it's not exactly something you leave lying about."

"Mm. It didn't strike you as odd that she sent you a bunch of nude pictures of herself?"

"She makes her living as a glamour model. It's a more personal gift than a fruit basket. Besides, they aren't all nudes."

"The ones where she's wrapped in latex aren't really any more decent, Kimmie."

"That's why they are in the closet."

"Just out of interest, Kimmie: after you saved her photo shoot, did you stay to watch?"

"She invited me to, and I'd never seen a shoot like that. And I didn't have any pressing needs once I'd taken care of the beavers."

"Kimmie, I don't think I've ever met as oblivious a lesbian as you were."

"In any case, you have no business snooping around my room."

"Of course I do. I'm Kim Possible now, I need to know where my things are."

"All you need are the school books and some clothes."

"And the toiletries, and make up, and your little black book, and..."

"Wait, what? My little black what?"

"The little book where you keep contact details of pretty young girls. I know they aren't on your phone."

"I don't have a list like that. And keep your hands off my phone."

"That's a little difficult right now, seeing how you are holding it in my hand as we speak."

"You know what I mean." Shego could be so unreasonable sometimes. "Anyway, I wanted to pick your brain on some things."

Kim proceeded to interrogate Shego about some practical aspects of villain's sidekick gig that neither of them had realized beforehand Kim needed to be briefed on. Shego's helpfulness gradually soothed Kim's pique at her spying ways, but she never quite forgot the offense. She decided that if Dr. Drakken didn't have anything sensible for her to do the next day, she'd take the hover car and go search Shego's apartment to return the favor. Who knows; she might find something to embarrass Shego with.

Maybe she'd find some of Shego's sexy things. Alone at her apartment was definitely the right time and the place for such thoughts.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Shego collapsed on the couch in the den, finally done with yet another school day. "Just how many clubs and committees is she on? Aren't her missions enough to fill out her calendar?"

"Kimmie likes to keep busy. I wish I still had that much energy."

Shego craned Kim's neck to peer at her mother. "She must have been handful growing up."

"I imagine she's still a handful, or what has your experience been?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"I've understood you and my daughter have quite frequent, ah, encounters. I imagine that they can get rather... heated."

Shego let her head drop and muttered something indistinct into a pillow. She was determined to not give anything away in case Dr. Possible was just fishing.

"Kimmie wasn't too bad. She was mostly out of the house, and really, she was more of a daddy's girl. The most trouble she made for me was when the two of them would blow things up, playing with their rockets."

"I thought that was her brothers."

"It was around the time they started to get into it Kimmie decided chemistry and rocketry were icky boy stuff and got into cheerleading instead."

"Huh. She never mentioned that before."

"When would she have told you about her childhood?" Dr. Possible had a teasing smile on her lips. "In the past few days, or during one of your fights?"

"It could have come up."

"School was the trouble. She got bored easily. The school suggested moving her up a few grades, as it seemed the classes were too easy to hold her interest, but I was against it."

"Why? I wish I could have skipped a few grades."

"School is also for socialization. I thought it was important for Kimmie to be around other kids her age to grow up like a normal girl. Incidentally, my husband skipped quite a few grades."

Shego had a flashback to Dr. Possible explaining the importance of not encouraging any boys while she was pretending to be Kim, and his frequent detours to remembrances of unlikely scientific adventures. He rather reminded her of Dr. Drakken, only with a little more house-training. "Yeah, I think you made the right call."

"I like to think so. We tried to find her a hobby to focus all that excess energy on instead. We gave her lots of options: I'd take her to cooking class, Pixie Scouts, singing, dancing, sports; anything I could think of. James founded the Rocket Boosters club with her in mind, and took her to a few martial arts classes, too."

"So which one did she pick?"

"You _have_ met my daughter, haven't you?"

Shego closed her eyes, gripped with premonition. "...Surely not all of them."

"Well, she did drop the cooking class pretty early."

"I can't believe that girl."

"My husband's family motto is that—"

"Anything is possible for a Possible, I know." And apparently Kim wasn't too clear on the difference between 'anything' and 'everything'.

"Kimmie always took it to heart. Perhaps too much so."

"If she wasn't such an overachiever, I might rule Iceland by now."

"Is that a career aspiration of yours? I must admit I'm not very well versed with the world of villainy."

"Dr. D promised me Iceland when he takes over the world. He tried to trick me with Greenland, but I remembered Greenland is the icy one and Iceland is the green one."

"Well, it's mostly volcanic rock. James and I went there on a vacation once. It's very pretty, with lots of waterfalls and hot springs, but there's not a lot of people there. Ruling it might get boring pretty soon."

"Yeah, well, it's not like Dr. D's going to be conquering the world anytime soon." It would make things awkward with Kim, too. Shego supposed she could ask to keep her as a concubine, but she didn't think Kim would be too into that.

"Since you seem to have a realistic view about his chances, why do you work for him?"

"Pay and benefits, mostly, and the diversity of tasks is a plus. It's not always same old, same old, you know? You never know what he's going to come up with."

"Like a brain switch machine."

"Yeah. For example. Are you sure you can't do anything? You're a brain surgeon."

"I can do a lot. I just can't return your mind to your body. To the best of my knowledge what happened to you is impossible."

"Trust me, there is nothing so impossible that the combination of Dr. D and Stoppable can't blunder into it."

"So it would seem. Still, look on the bright side: at least you ended up in the body of the only other woman present. Unless maybe you would have enjoyed testing out a male one?"

"Ugh. I don't really have any use for a male body. Not to mention it would have meant one of them would have ended up in mine." A violent shudder went through Kim's body at the thought. "Yeah, I guess Kimmie was pretty much the best option, if I had to switch bodies with someone."

"You both do seem remarkably calm about it."

"Freaking out won't solve anything. You kinda learn to roll with the weirdness, working for Dr. D."

"Including hanging out with the parents of her nemesis? I doubt I would have taken it this well." Dr. Possible frowned. "Do I hear beeping?"

Shego tilted Kim's head to listen. "It's the Kimmunicator. They probably want me to go rescue another kitten."

"It could be serious."

"They don't trust me with anything serious."

Ron Stoppable barged in through the front door without bothering to knock. "Shego, we've got a mission. It's serious. Oh, hi, Mrs. Dr. P. You're home early."

"Hello, Ron." Dr. Possible turned back towards Shego. "You'd better go get changed."

"I might skip this one."

Dr. Possible's expression sharpened. "My daughter is currently in a lair of a villain, playing your role. You _will_ hold up your end of the bargain. While _dressing_ my daughter's body might be a new experience to you, I strongly suggest you go put on the mission clothes right now."

"I'm already going, Mrs. Dr. P." As long as it got her out of this conversation.

Shego rushed upstairs to Kim's room and was once again reminded of the fact that her room didn't have a door for privacy. Sure, with the stairwell it would have had to be more of a trapdoor, but something that closed and locked would have been nice. Shego opened Kim's wardrobe and stood behind the door for some extra privacy in case somebody barged in while she was changing.

Undressing Kim's body was indeed not a new experience for Shego, but she didn't find much difficulty in dressing it either, especially when inhabiting it. It turned out that Kim's body functioned much the same as her own. The main difference was that she would never have dressed hers into a turtleneck crop top and a pair of cargo pants. Shego wasn't sure if using these mission clothes strictly speaking upheld Kim's reputation. She resolved to find a way to update Kim's outfit to something that showed off her body to more advantage while she was still in charge of it.

* * *

"So what's this supposed serious mission?"

"There's a break-in at the Tri-City Museum."

"Ooh, a museum. It's been a while since I've robbed one. It doesn't sound that serious."

"I guess, but KP always gets worked up about somebody messing with 'cultural treasures'."

"Define 'worked up'."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. What do we know about the situation?"

"Somebody broke into the museum."

Shego counted to five in Kim's head. "Are they still there?"

"Yeah."

"Did anybody call the cops or something?"

"No, they called KP."

"I guess that's the more sensible option. What's the story with the helicopter ride?"

"I'm not sure, actually. Usually it's somebody KP's helped out with something."

"Aren't you usually there?"

"It all blurs together after a while. Wade's the one that organizes the rides, I don't need to remember everything."

Shego decided interrogating Ron was a wasted effort and turned to peer out of the window. Night was already darkening and the features of the landscape were getting hard to distinguish. A line of headlights was snaking away from the dark mass of the city they were approaching.

"I've got to be honest, I actually didn't think you'd want to go on this mission."

"I figure this will at least be more fun than rescuing kittens." And if she did a good job foiling a robbery, she could use it to pressure Kim to commit one. It sounded only fair to Shego.

"It must be a little weird for you, right? Stopping a robbery, I mean."

"I have more experience on the other side, yes. Speaking of which, do you remember if I... uh, if Shego ever robbed this particular museum? I have this weirdest memory of a headless monkey I can't place."

"That's just sick and wrong. Monkeys are scary enough. There's no need for undead headless monkeys." Ron shuddered. "It's weird, I could swear I was menaced by a mummy in there, but I don't think I've ever even been here before."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh. Spooky."

Shego decided she hadn't just heard a naked mole-rat say that and addressed the pilot. "Land us some way away from the museum. If the thieves are still there, I don't want the noise to alert them."

"I guess I should stay off the air too, in case they have a wireless, but I'll lift off anyway after I drop you two off. I want to be ready in case there's a chase. They're always cool."

* * *

Shego made her cautious way through the darkened hallway leading to the next display room. She didn't know what had attracted the thief there, and so wasn't sure where they would be. She stopped as she got to the corner and peeked around with infinite care. Behind her, Ron jostled a stand.

"It's cool! It didn't break."

Shego reflexively tried to power up to demonstrate her displeasure, only to remember that Kim's body didn't have superpowers. "How did you two ever manage to sneak into Dr. D's lairs?"

"We're usually detected and caught, really."

"I can't imagine why."

"Yeah, me neither. You'd think we'd get better at it with all the practice."

"Just try to be quiet. It's barely within the realm of possible that the thief might not have spotted us yet."

"Possssible? I could _tassssste_ you coming from milessssss away."

Shego whirled around at the sound of the familiar feminine voice with an unfamiliar sibilant quality to it, and couldn't help but to stare. The intruder was standing with hands on her hips, wearing a black leather outfit that looked like she was poured into it. Shego's first thought was that she looked smoking hot. The realization soon followed that she was checking herself out. Shego realized that she had been staring, her mouth embarrassingly hanging open. By the look on the thief's borrowed face, she was very pleased with the response.

Shego schooled her expression and smacked Ron. "Stop leering at me."

"I wasn't, I was... huh."

Shego crossed her arms and adopted an unimpressed expression. "I was led to believe this was a serious mission, Kimmie."

"It is. I was seriously going out of my mind at the lair."

"You're not actually here to rob this place. I bet you got permission for a little training exercise."

"And you're not actually going to capture me. It doesn't mean we can't go a few rounds."

"You can't even fight in that costume."

"Maybe you can't." Kim adopted a martial arts stance Shego recognized as belonging to Snake style. "I can do anything."

Shego mirrored Kim's stance. "Well, then, Princess. Let's see how well you dance."

"I'll just, uh, stay here and watch, huh?"

Shego had already completely forgotten Kim's sidekick was present and the distraction almost let Kim hit her. "Does he need to be here?"

"Yes." Kim dodged Shego's returning strike and raised her voice. "He's here to supervise you on this training exercise I orchestrated to determine if you can be trusted with real missions."

"Yeah, sure, we can roll with that." Shego dodged few more quick strikes. "But that's not the real reason, is it?"

"I was going loony in the lair and then I found this costume at your place when I was snooping around. It gave me an inspiration."

"And after you had dealt with that, you decided to stage a robbery." Shego supposed she should maybe have expected Kim to pay her back for searching her room. In a way it was nice to know she was getting in the right mindset.

"I really needed to know if you'd behave on a mission." Kim ducked under an attack. "And I wanted to see you."

"All you had to do was to look in the mirror."

"Been there, done that." Kim smirked. "It was very... inspiring."

"I bet." Not that Shego hadn't done something similar.

"You seem to like the way you look, too. I noticed you staring."

"Can you blame me? That outfit makes you look—"

"Smoking hot? I know."

"Not like me." With the mask and the foreign costume it was easier to forget it was her body Kim was wearing.

"Would that work? If we both wore costumes?"

"Maybe. Only if you want to try that out maybe let's not invite the Boy Wonder." Shego glanced at Ron. "Is he eating nachos?"

"Snackage and a catfight, what's not to like?"

"You sure know how to pick 'em."

"I've spent the past few days with Dr. Drakken."

"At least he pays me. Where did he get nachos in the first place?"

"Don't look at me, you came here with him."

"I try not to pay attention to him. That's a good strategy for Dr. D, too." Shego decided to drop pure Snake style in favor of a leg sweep. Kim jumped over it and landed gracefully; not a mean feat with the heels she was wearing.

"You'll break my ankle if you carry on like this."

"I've been practicing. You look really good in heels."

"It's what they're designed for. Not fighting."

"It's no big, Shego."

"How would you like it if I endangered your body with daredevil stunts?"

"Like you were holding up your end of the bargain. When did you get to be such an old woman, Shego?"

"Oh, that does it."

Shego raised the intensity of her attacks. She wasn't sure if hurting Kim while she was in her body was actually teaching her a lesson or not, but she wasn't going to hit Kim's body as long as she was in it. Kim had to use some fancy moves to avoid being hit. The tight leather costume moved with her in ways that drew Shego's gaze.

"Are you, uh, are you actually wearing anything under that?" The outfit was very tight, but it betrayed no sign of possible underwear.

"There's really no room for anything."

Shego had no way of knowing if Kim was telling the truth or not, but all the same, she stumbled in her attack at the thought.

"You okay, Shego?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"I had to oil myself to even get this thing on."

Shego's brain glitched for a second, and by the time she recovered, she was lying on her back after a short flight. Kim straddled her hips and bent down to pin her arms.

"Looks like I win."

"That's fighting dirty, Kimmie."

"Well, I am pretending to be a villainess." Kim thought for a second. "Who's pretending to be another villainess."

"No, you're just pretending to be a fake villainess, when you should be faking being a real one."

"You are so picky."

Her face—Snake Charmer's face was very close, and the body against hers was very warm. Kim's lips parted as Shego raised her head.

There was a sound from the side and Shego looked that way to see Ron staring at them with his mouth open. He had dropped his snacks. "I forgot he was there again."

"So did I. Bummer." Kim released her arms and rose up in one sinuous movement. She looked at Shego still lying on the floor with a little smirk. "Nexssst time you're mine, hero."

Shego sat up to watch as Kim walked away with one hand on her hip and such an exaggerated sway to her tightly-encased behind it was more reminiscent of a cathouse than a catwalk. Shego wanted nothing so much as to run after her and pin her down, her body or not. Unfortunately, they weren't alone. Shego collected herself and turned to go.

"Serious mission, my ass."

Which Kim made look sinfully good.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Kim Possible lounged by the table and watched Doctor Drakken pace back and forth with his hands behind his back and a look of concentration on his scarred face. Or possibly of constipation; he gave the occasional pained grimace as he muttered.

"Mutated turnips... mmnh, no, I think I tried that already..."

He had been at this for almost an hour already, and didn't show any sign of producing a coherent sentence, or even a thought, any time soon. At first it had been kind of fascinating to watch, but by now it was getting boring. Kim produced an emery board and started working on Shego's nails. She had a vested interest in their condition, after all.

Shego had told her that this was how things usually went. After one of his plans inevitably failed, Dr. Drakken would then spend a few days too demoralized to do anything except mope around. Eventually he would recover enough to start brainstorming his next scheme.

"An army of battle bunnies! A relentless tide of white fluffy devastation. Hmm, but where would I find enough carrots to keep them in line?"

It was a process that could take a while.

"I _could_ always build a huge death-ray."

"Oh, yeah, 'cause that's _soo_ original." What was it with guys and giant ray-guns?

"Shego, there's no need for sarcasm. It can be very hurtful."

"Do you think Professor Dementor keeps building death-rays?"

"Don't talk to me about Professor Dementor. I'm much more inventive than that has-been hack."

"Sure you are, Doc."

"I'll show you. I'll show you all."

"I can barely contain my excitement." It wasn't like she enjoyed being mean to anyone, even Dr. Drakken. She was just trying to stay in character. Besides, she had already managed to shoot down one death-ray plan.

"Try to sound more fired up when you say that."

"Woo-hoo." Kim lazily pumped one arm. "With extra 'hoo'."

"Nrgh. Hmm? Aha! I have it, Shego!"

"Do you want me to call a doctor?"

"What? Don't distract me. I have just had the most astonishing idea of the decade, possibly the century; nay, the very millennium."

"Sliced bread is already invented, Doc."

"Bah. My idea is much grander than that. It's... it's... it's right on the tip of my tongue..."

"The palate?"

"Gah! It's gone now. I hope you're happy, Shego. You have robbed the world of the greatest crime it was ever going to witness."

"I am a thief, you know."

"Don't forget you work for me. You will steal things when I tell you to, and not otherwise."

"Wasn't going to." She definitely wasn't going to.

"Oh, don't try to pretend like you never sneak out for some extracurricular thieving. I'm wise to your ways, young woman."

"I guess you got me, Dr. D." Likely as not Shego was sneaking out to be with her, these days. It really was hard to maintain a clandestine relationship with an internationally wanted criminal, especially when you still lived with your parents. Switching bodies didn't help.

"Mnh. Don't you forget it. And give me back my brilliant idea."

"No. It's mine now. You'll just have to figure out another one."

"I will, Shego. If you think I can't come up with an idea twice as brilliant as that one, you are sorely mistaken."

"Yeah, yeah. Talk is cheap."

"Hrrng. Mnf. Hmm. A giant rocket loaded with lumpy porridge, maybe?"

"Are you sure you're not just hungry, Dr. D? A lot of these ideas seem to be food-related."

"Ha! I've had a brilliant idea, Shego. I, Doctor Drakken, will have a quick lunch break. I will think much better with a full stomach."

Kim doubted that, but she figured he could hardly do worse. She shrugged her shoulders to an imaginary audience and followed the figure in blue coat already marching towards the kitchen.

* * *

After the indifferent meal—the henchman rotation had its downsides—Dr. Drakken returned to the central room, and Kim followed, assuming she was expected to. Apparently brainstorming wasn't for the ears of the henchmen, or Dr. Drakken just didn't talk shop at the table. Not that anyone had talked much; the presence of the blue man appeared to have an inhibiting effect on the henchmen's banter. Well, he was crazy, and he paid their bills. Somehow. Kim had done most of the talking, attempting to improve the henchmen's table manners—in a manner Shego would approve of, of course. It was a process that could take a while.

"Now, where was I?"

"Failing to come up with a new plan."

"I don't need your attitude, Shego."

"You need something."

"What I need is a new idea, something devilish and unexpected that will put me back on the map."

"What about the last one?" Kim might as well try to get something useful out of this session.

"The last one?"

"The one with the brain switch machine."

"That plan is in ruins. Along with the machine. And the lair. Those aren't cheap, you know."

"Lairs or brain switch machines?"

"The lair was expensive. The brain switch machine was irreplaceable. The only one in the world, you know."

Now they were onto something. "So where'd you get it?"

"I built it, of course. I told you."

"How'd you manage that?"

"By being a genius, Shego."

"Well, have you thought about re-building it and giving the plan another go?"

"Revisiting a plan? I'm an evil genius; coming up with brilliant new schemes to take over the world is totally my bag. If you think another giant death-ray is bad, how would repeating a plan look? No, you had a point, Shego. I'm not a one-note villain that does the same thing over and over, like that demented golfer, or the deranged monkey person."

"Don't you repeatedly fail at taking over the world, though?"

"I only need to succeed once, Shego."

"I guess."

"You're rarely this interested in my plans. It's almost eerie."

"Well, I just thought you were onto something there, Dr. D."

"You laughed at my plan."

"So we'd have that part out of the way already if we redid it."

"No. I already told you, retries are for chumps and chimps."

"But the plan never even got off the ground because of m... that meddling cheerleader."

"The bane of my existence. If she tells everybody I'm recycling old schemes, I'll lose my cool guy card."

"Dr. D, you have never had a cool guy card."

"Oh yeah?" Dr. Drakken dug out his wallet and extracted a card, which he handed for Kim. "Then what's this, then?"

"It's a membership card for Snowman Hank Fan Club."

"So there you have it."

"That's the exact opposite of a cool guy card."

"How wrong you can be, Shego."

"Whatever. I bet the real reason you won't try again is because you couldn't rebuild the machine, anyway."

"I could if I wanted to."

"I bet."

"I'm the genius who built it in the first place."

"Prove it. How?"

"You wouldn't understand. It involves some very esoteric techniques."

"Big words, Dr. D."

"It's all in the book."

"Book? What book?"

"The book I got the idea from."

"So it wasn't your brainwave? What was the name of the book?"

"I forget. Give it a rest, Shego. The plan is dead and buried."

"What about the book?"

"Also buried. It was in the lair. Now stop bringing me down with all this talk about old failed plans. You're harshing my buzz."

"Buzz away, Dr. D." Kim had already got a lead, anyway.

"Hmm, buzz... bees... no, hummingbirds! No, bees! Robot bees! Yes! I shall call it the Plan Bee, Shego."

"I wish you wouldn't."

Dr. Drakken was no longer listening. He made a bee-line for the desk in the corner, grabbed a pen and a sheaf of paper, and started scribbling like a madman. Which was only natural, since he was one. Kim wondered if she should stay to observe, but she decided to use Dr. Drakken's distraction to go call Wade.

* * *

"That's a solid lead, Kim. Nice work. No book's turned up yet, but there's a lot of rubble to shift. It's a good thing a lot of people owe you favors."

"I didn't stop that runaway bulldozer so the construction company would owe me, but I'm not turning them down if they want to pitch in. The book may not have even survived, though."

"Probably not in one piece, but we only need enough to identify which book it was. Getting an idea about the principles Dr. Drakken based his machine on would be a major step towards figuring out how to reverse the effects."

"Let's hope it turns up. How's the mission front look?"

"Plenty available, but it's mostly the kind you take when you're bored, and let's be honest: Shego doesn't seem as enthusiastic about doing missions as you. What do I do if something urgent does come up?"

"I think we can trust Shego with it. She seems to be behaving."

"So she passed your test, then?"

"Well, I don't know how she'd have behaved if she'd found a real thief, but she seemed to take the mission seriously up to that point." The museum thing had definitely been a totally legitimate and successful test.

"It's your call, Kim. I've got to admit I'm surprised with how well she's behaving. Just how did you convince her?"

"She knows she's better off with me: it's not like she can get what she wants from Dr. D. I mean, Dr. Drakken."

"How are things going with the good doctor, by the way?"

"It's been quiet so far, but I think he just got an idea. I hope it's a non-starter."

"And if it isn't?"

"I'll handle it somehow. I need to go now, I still have homework to do. Have I mentioned this is a really unfair arrangement?"

"Didn't you just say Shego seems to be holding up her end of the bargain?"

"Only because it's unfair. Talk to you later, Wade."

* * *

After finishing her homework and submitting it for Shego to hand in, Kim went to find Dr. Drakken. It was time to find out just how much trouble his latest brainwave would be.

"Shego! There you are. I present to you my next creation."

Dr. Drakken gestured towards the large screen. On it was a schematic of a blue robotic woman, or a woman-shaped robot. In either case, the generous curves and slender limbs of the figure were unmistakably feminine and, despite the narrow waist, not particularly insectile.

"That's not a robot bee."

"I call her Bebe."

"But of course you do. Why is she blue?"

"What color would an electric robot bee woman be other than shocking blue?"

"I don't know, black and yellow?"

"She's got blonde hair."

"I can see that. So, all this time I though you were working on your next plan you were just drawing robot women. Frustrated much?"

"No. I mean, sure, I might have built the original version back in college because me and my posse couldn't score dates, but—"

"Wait, wait, time out. This isn't even a new idea? It's a rehash of something you came up with in college?" That explained the design, though. At least the thing didn't have giant breasts, and didn't appear to be quite anatomically complete "Didn't we just decide against redoing plans?"

"This one doesn't count, Shego. I wasn't even a villain yet, it was not an evil plan."

"No, just a lame one. So why the update? You suddenly remembered you still can't get a date?"

"I could so get a date if I wanted to. Mrghn. No, my brilliant idea of bees gave me an even more brilliant idea of how to fix the unfortunate problems with the original Bebes."

"I'm afraid to ask."

"Hive mind, Shego."

"Oh. That wasn't what I was expecting to hear."

"The electronic brain that you can cram into such a weak vessel is necessarily too puny to achieve all the things it needs for the Bebes to be—or bee, eh Shego?—the perfect women they were designed to be."

"Again, I'm afraid to ask."

"But by networking the individual units, they can share the workload amongst themselves, letting each one be more capable than it would on its own."

"How would that even work? I mean, you'd still have the same computing power to run the same number of units, right? Or would there be a mainframe somewhere?"

"Since when do you know anything about robots, Shego? No, of course there wouldn't be a central computer, that would defeat the entire point of having a hive mind. Don't feel bad, Shego, you can hardly be expected to understand my sheer genius."

Dr. Drakken puffed out his chest, then started to pace in front of the screen with his hands holding imaginary lapels.

"Your mistake, Shego, is to think of individual Bebes as monolithic units. The mind of each one is composed of numerous subroutines, many of them dealing with very mundane, rote tasks. By sharing these subroutines across the hive mind, each Bebe will have more power to devote to higher level tasks. And the more units are added to the hive mind, the more capable each individual Bebe becomes. And that's not even mentioning the perfect teamwork they'll have. It is brilliant, Shego. None other than I, Doctor Drakken, could have come up with such an ingenious idea. Really, sometimes I even astonish myself."

"That... that does sound pretty clever, Dr. D." At first blush it did sound plausible. Had Dr. Drakken actually hit upon a workable idea for once? Kim supposed stranger things had happened. But of course, the hive mind was just one part of the design. "So what will these Bebes be for?"

"For? They will be perfect women, and as such they will make perfect lackeys."

"Indeed?" One of Kim's, or rather, Shego's, hands seemed to curl into a fist of its own accord.

"Obedient, orderly, meek in the presence of their master, but vicious to my enemies. They will be equally adept at housework as they will be at executing my evil plans."

"Is that so." Kim didn't so much activate Shego's glow as she allowed it to manifest.

"Oh, yes. I can assure you they will listen to my brilliant plans with proper respect and admiration and certainly won't threaten their employer, their very generous employer, with potentially deadly violence. Calm down now, Shego. Is it... is it one of those days? That, also, won't be an issue with robotic..."

Dr. Drakken broke off and dove for cover as Kim let loose with blasts of green force. It's what Shego would have done, she was sure. This was definitely a case where Dr. Drakken was out of line.

"I don't even understand what I've done to upset you, Shego!"

"I don't know, maybe it's the implication you plan on replacing me with some robotic bimbos. Or maybe I just don't appreciate your views on women."

"We can talk about this, Shego."

"So let's talk. Where do we stand on Plan B?"

"It is my most brillia—augh!"

"Come again, Dr. D?"

"We're... we're not doing it?"

"See? A good talk."

"At least when you're around," Drakken grumbled _sotto voce_. "Can I come out now?"

"Sure. I mean, you have to start working on plan C, right? Or was there a plan A you skipped?"

"No, I... ah, yes; yes, Shego. There was one thing, but I put it on hold since... it requires materials I... uh, can't quite afford right now. I'm well in my funds, don't misunderstand, I'm just a teensy weensy short. Could you maybe—"

"I'm not spotting you."

"—steal them for me?"

"Oh. Right." Now how was she going to get out of this one? Stealing things was very much why Dr. Drakken employed Shego. She could hardly claim this request was unreasonable.

"Judging from their latest offerings, Jack Hench's labs should have what I need."

"You want me to steal from Jack Hench? Are you out of your mind?" This one she could spin, fortunately.

"What's the problem, Shego? You've done it before, and it's not like we ever buy from him at his criminally inflated prices."

"Drakken, we're in one of his time-share lairs right now."

"Ah, yes, I see what you mean. The timing could be a little awkward."

"I'm glad we're on the same page."

"Perhaps you could wear some sort of a disguise?"

Kim had a sudden vision of Shego in sheer, skintight black costume with a generous cleavage; the other costume she'd found at Shego's place she had fond memories of. Hench was a criminal, anyway, profiting from the work of villains. And it's not like she was actually going to manage to steal anything, as long as she made sure Shego showed up to stop her. Preferably suitably attired.

"Yes. Yes, I think a disguise would work."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

At the end of yet another excruciatingly vexing school day Shego headed for Kim's locker, annoyingly trailed by Ron Stoppable, who was trying to get her attention.

"I've been meaning to ask you, Shego—"

"Kim. I'm Kim, how hard can that be to remember?"

"Uh, yeah, Kim... no, KP, about the other night..."

As Shego approached the locker, she spotted a figure she recognized. "How's your routine working out, Princess?"

"It's coming together just fine, no thanks to you, so you can continue to stay out of the way," Bonnie said. "And if you insist on giving me strange titles, I'd prefer 'Queen' to 'Princess'."

"I'm sure you would, Cupcake. Run along now, I have business to take care of."

"As if I would be seen dead hanging out with your loser friends."

Bonnie walked off in a huff, but it was still quite a spectacle. Shego noted she wasn't the only one in the corridor who appreciated it.

"You have a gift for dealing with Bonnie, S...K...P."

Shego rolled Kim's eyes. "Whatever. Be quiet now, Nerdlinger wants to talk to me." At least she assumed that was the reason Kim's locker was ringing. She opened the door.

"I'm glad I caught you still at school, Kim. A request came in, and I've been specifically instructed to pass it onto you."

"Is it about a cat?"

"I don't think so. I'll connect you."

Wade's portly figure vanished and was replaced by an image of someone much older, better groomed, and slimier.

"Good afternoon, Miss Possible. Kim. I trust you are well?"

"What do you want, Hench?" Why was Jack Hench of all people calling Kim?

"Straight to the point, eh? I like that. Why does anyone contact you? I find myself in need of help. Helping people is what you do, is it not?"

"We don't help people like you," Ron said.

"Oh, but you really should. I've understood you don't take payment for your troubles, but that you do accept little favors in return. I assure you that I can be very generous to my friends."

"Still not happening. Tell her, KP."

"Yes." Shego gave Hench a blatant wink out of Ron's sight. "What he said. I'm afraid I can't help you."

Shego closed the door, but not the connection. "Let's get out of here. Wanna grab something at Bueno Nacho?"

"Seriously? I wasn't sure you appreciated the good things in life."

"Are you kidding? I love Bueno Nacho. Tell you what: if you beat me there, it's my treat."

"Yes! Everything's coming up Ronster. Hear that, Rufus? Today we're going Grande Size."

Shego watched as Ron broke for the doors, then opened the locker again.

"You still there?"

"Indeed I am, Miss Possible. I take it we are free of... unsophisticated interference?"

"So what's this problem you need help with?"

"A thief has been plaguing some of my facilities. She has shown lamentable skill in dealing with both electronic and physical security, and I've come to the conclusion that enlisting the help of an expert consultant is the expedient thing to do."

"You think she'll come back?"

"I have no doubt of it. She seems to be looking for something specific, and doesn't appear to have found it yet."

"Do you have anything more on the thief?" Shego's heart was beating a little faster.

"I do have body camera footage from guards who stumbled upon her. I hate to say it, but she dealt with them in short order."

A shaky and dark video footage played on the screen. Blurry as it was, Shego had no trouble recognizing the central figure taking the group of Jack's henchmen apart. The clinging black costume with a generous cleavage left no doubt of the fact that the thief was a woman, her identity obscured by a domino mask and a long flowing platinum blonde wig. Shego's mouth went dry, but other parts of her moistened in compensation.

"Yes," Shego said, her voice a little hoarse. "I think an expert is exactly what you need. Of course, I couldn't possibly help someone like you."

"That is unfortunate."

"However, you should tell your people that there is a fair chance a mysterious masked vigilante might be coming after your thief."

"Ah; I understand you completely, my dear."

"I thought you would. Now, let's talk favors."

* * *

"Are you really going to do this?" Wade's visage on the viewscreen of the Kimmunicator was worried and uncertain.

"I already came all this way. I didn't go to all this trouble for nothing." Maybe she hadn't strictly speaking needed to infiltrate the facility, since Hench had asked for Kim's help, but stakeouts were boring, legitimate or not, and it was good to keep in practice.

"I'm really not sure Jack Hench is the kind of person we should be helping."

"That's why I'm in disguise: just to safeguard Kimmie's precious reputation." At least that was the only reason anybody needed to know. "Did or did not Kimmie specifically instruct you to pass his request to me?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure just why—"

"And here I thought you were supposed to be smart. Obviously Kimmie for once is pulling her weight by doing a job, and she wants me here to stop her." Whether she got what she wanted was another matter, but they could negotiate that later.

"That doesn't explain the costume."

"I'll ask her when I see her." She did have a fairly good notion about the reason, though. It was largely why she had gone through all this trouble. Shego scanned the small industrial yard from her spot on a roof. "Any sign of her yet?"

"No. Based on Hench's data this is the most likely target, but she could hit someplace else. She really could have given us a heads-up."

"She did. I kinda like that she's playing it coy." Though Shego suspected that if Hench hadn't made his request, she would have just called.

"You could have brought Ron along."

"No, I couldn't have. This mission requires some basic discretion that will probably remain forever out of his reach."

"Hold up, I'm getting some movement on the sensors. Do you think it's Kim?"

"Only one way to find out." Shego checked the location of the contact. "So long, I'm going in."

"Wait, take the Kimmunicator with—"

"Sorry, Nerdlinger, this outfit didn't come with pockets."

Shego turned off the device and stashed it in Kim's backpack. She pulled the mask over her head and made some little adjustments to the tight, colorful costume she was wearing. It fit more snugly than her own catsuit, and left her midriff bare, but was still easy to move in when it was sitting just right. She tested the wrist-mounted web shooters, and went over Wade's briefing on them in her head. Then she jumped off the roof. It's what Kim would have done.

It was also what the Spider would have done. Shego shot a line of sticky and hopefully durable webbing to control her descent. She swung down parallel to the wall, maintaining separation by judicious kicks. Inspired by the mood of the moment, she performed a perfect three-point landing. She felt both a little foolish, and disappointed there was no one to see it.

Shego stealthily entered the building through a route she had scouted out earlier. She was here by invitation, but old habits died hard. She stayed in the shadows among rows of shelves as she investigated the workshop. She soon spotted a shadowy figure moving along the assembly benches, maybe searching among the few items cluttering their surfaces. Shego was about to make her move right then, but decided that some things needed to be done right.

It took Shego a minute to get on top of the shelving unit closest to the benches without making enough noise to alert the intruder. She was fairly well hidden in the shadows, which was good for stealth, but not so much for dramatic reveals. She really should have gone for the light switches, but she wasn't climbing back down now.

Perhaps she could do something from here? She inspected the walls and found what appeared to be a row of large toggle switches. That could be for the overhead lights, and it was close enough she might be able to hit them with the web thing. She inched as close to the switches as she could, aimed carefully, and pushed the trigger. She missed. She corrected her aim and tried again. It looked like she might have snagged a switch or two. The angle wasn't the best possible, but she gave the web line a yank, anyway.

Something started up with a hum, and some of the lights flickered on. Kim whirled around to look for the culprit. The time for hiding was over.

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in." In retrospect, she should have figured out a good opening line ahead of time, too. She'd had plenty of time.

"Spider!" Kim homed in on her voice. "Why, you wouldn't be stalking little old me, would you?"

"If you didn't insist on burglarizing places, I wouldn't have to keep coming after you."

"Maybe I like it when you come for me."

"Not that you're much of a thief. This is the third place you've hit, and you haven't actually stolen anything yet." Shego hoped her disappointment was clear.

"Dr. D wasn't very precise on just where the things he wanted were."

"Yeah, that's what you get for relying on him for intelligence." It was good to know that this was actually a job for him, and that Kim at least gave the appearance of attempting it. Maintaining good standing with her regular employer kept the regular pay coming.

A bit of a standoff followed, as the two women faced each other, Kim on the floor and Shego perched on the shelving unit. At least it gave Shego an opportunity to admire her—no, Cat's, definitely the Cat's—body.

"Aren't you going to stop me?"

"From doing what? You haven't even stolen anything yet."

"I was about to."

"So go ahead."

"Shego, that's not how I behave."

"And when I go to steal something, I don't just hang around waiting for you."

"You do sometimes."

"That's beside the point, and you still need to actually make me stop."

"Fine." Kim turned around and sensually bent over, giving Shego an excellent view of her—the Cat's behind shifting under the tight and clingy fabric as she searched the table. "Now, which one of these was it that he wanted..."

Shego relented. "Hold it right there, Cat."

Kim turned her head to peer at Shego from under the bangs of her blonde wig. Her voice was a purr. "I could do that, Spider. But wouldn't it be more fun if you held me instead?"

"I won't fall for your foul wiles, fair villainess."

"It sounds like you already have." Kim frowned. "Not that there's anything foul about my wiles."

"You're pretty full of yourself, aren't you?"

"If you want me to be full of someone else, you'll have to do something about it."

"Oh, I will."

Shego lunged for Kim, but took care to make an easy landing. It gave Kim enough time to avoid her with a lazy flip over the table. Her legs moved in graceful arcs and Shego's gaze followed the natural course towards the lovely behind wrapped in cloth so thin and tight it almost might not have been there.

Kim gained her footing on the other side of the table and leaned on it to display her mesmerizing cleavage in turn. "So eager." Her lips parted in a challenging smile. "I like it. Come on, Spider. Let's dance."

The fight was on, if you could call it that. Usually when Shego and Kim went at it they made some effort to keep up appearances, but there was nobody else here, and between them they had dealt with the cameras. The only audience on their minds was the two of them. And it wasn't quite Shego and Kim, this time. It was the graceful and seductive thief the Cat, and the equally agile hero the Spider, caught in their special courtship dance.

They play-fought all over the workspace, over the workbenches, between the shelves, occasionally pinning each other against them and, sometimes, crashing right through. They caused quite a lot of collateral damage in the process. Shego didn't care, and Kim didn't appear overly concerned about it, either.

Shego enjoyed the way they moved together, improvising a choreography for an intricate dance that was theirs, and theirs alone. Even in borrowed bodies they were in perfect synch. There was no-one else she could have done this with; there was no one else Kim could have done this with.

She enjoyed the way Kim had taken to her role, taking the lead on flirting. She enjoyed the fleeting caresses and gropes, the feel of her body on Kim's, the tantalizing glimpses of the body rendered foreign by the costume and the heat of the moment.

Eventually the heat became too much to bear. Shego pushed Kim down between the workbenches and rather than try to push her off, Kim wrapped her limbs around her, desperately pulling her closer. Shego smashed Kim's mouth to hers, only to be reminded of her head-covering mask.

"Let me help you with that, Spider." Kim's fingers traced the edges of the mask, pulled it over her mouth and nose.

Kim pulled her into a forceful kiss, and Shego didn't resist. Her lips were demanding, insistent, the tongue in her mouth challenging. Shego responded in kind, and for a while they wrestled with their tongues alone, their hands exploring all the while. When Kim finally broke the kiss, they were both panting.

"You wouldn't really arrest poor little me, would you, Spider?"

"I really should. Committing burglary on behalf of a mad scientist and all."

"Ah, but, you know, I think I've acquired a taste for mad science myself. Perhaps you could help me with an experiment?"

"Oh?" Shego wasn't sure where Kim was going with this, but she suspected she might like it.

"Let's go someplace quiet and find out what you get if you crossbreed a cat with a spider."

Shego decided that mad science had its moments, after all.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Kim Possible woke to the familiar four-note tune of her Kimmunicator. She didn't for the moment know where she was was or what was happening, but a call on her Kimmunicator was probably important enough that she needed to drag herself up for it. When she blearily groped towards the repeating sound, her questing hand encountered something soft and warm.

"What the heck is it, Mrs. Dr. P?"

The sound of her own voice brought her up short, and she finally opened her eyes to look at the other occupant of the bed. Shego was holding the device up, eyes closed and Kim's red hair in disarray.

"I'm not actually your daughter, I don't see why I would need to attend your family dinner."

Kim could hear her mother's voice on the other end of the connection, but in her dazed state she couldn't quite puzzle out the words. They blurred together in a pleasant murmur as she lay back down and closed her eyes.

"The screen is off because I value my privacy; besides, I'm not decent." There was another moment of buzzing voice. "Yes, I know you've seen her bubble-butt before. That's not the point."

There were more words and Kim thought she recognized her own name among them.

"Maybe she turned it off. I'll pass that along if I hear from her," Kim's voice said. "How would I know if she's decent or not?"

Kim smiled to herself and pulled the sheet off of Shego's body to help her figure that out.

"Yes, I do plan on enjoying myself. Have a nice weekend, Mrs. Dr. P." Shego put the Kimmunicator down and turned to Kim. "Did you catch all that?"

"I think I got the gist of it." Kim picked up her phone and turned it back on. She discovered she had one missed call. "I wish mom would learn to send text messages rather than leave voice mail. It's probably about the dinner. Or maybe about me coming home this weekend."

"Are you?"

"I think I'd rather stay here. I'll need to call her, but it might be a little suspicious if I did it right now."

"Doy." Shego studied Kim. "I guess you are getting an early taste for the privileges of living on your own."

"Mostly I was thinking about staying here with you." Kim gave Shego a meaningful glance and shifted to better display Shego's naked body.

"Are you trying to tempt me with my own body?"

"You seemed to like it well enough last night."

"It was the Cat last night."

"Even after the costume came off?"

Shego didn't answer straight away, and Kim turned to looked into her eyes. The eyes were green, a slightly different shade than Shego's own, but similar enough that it was easy to believe it was Shego's mind behind them. The similarity ended there: the red hair framing her face was very different from Shego's own jet black hair, and her body was much more modestly curved than the one Kim was currently flaunting. To Kim's surprise, none of that mattered. With a sense of wonder she realized that even though she was staring at her own teenaged redheaded body, she saw Shego.

Kim lifted her hand to cup Shego's chin, then rose up to place a soft kiss on her lips. She felt Shego respond, and it didn't take long for the kiss to deepen. It might have been her own lips she was kissing, it might have been her tongue that welcomed her, but it was Shego's soul that was animating them. Kim leaned back to look at her lover. "Shego..."

"Kimmie..." The green eyes were intent as they looked at her. Shego reached out to caress her shoulder, then trailed her hand lower. "It's just another costume. It's still you wearing it."

"I don't know about that. But I am me, and you are you, and I don't care about the rest. We should be together."

This time Shego pulled her into a kiss. Kim trailed her hand over her flat stomach, feeling the muscles under the smooth skin. That part of them, at least, felt very similar. Her hand moved upwards to cup her breast, which didn't.

"I'm really not very big, am I?"

"It'll probably save you a lot of back pain."

"Girls with big girls always complain about that."

"Yeah, and sensibly proportioned girls always complain about it." Shego pushed her chest against Kim's hands. "I can assure you these are much easier to do acrobatics with. I didn't even need a bra with that top. Do you have any idea how hard it was to find a bra that offers enough support while leaving a nice cleavage to go with the Cat costume?"

"It was totally worth it. I mean, yeah, they kinda do get in the way, but they are really fun, too."

"Yes, I know. You do like to play with them."

"Shego... are mine any fun?"

"Yes. See for yourself. Size really isn't everything."

Shego lay back down on the bed, and Kim cupped her breasts. They didn't feel so inadequate from this side. They did fill her hands quite nicely, the hard tips poking in her palms.

"I wish I had nipples as nice as yours, Kimmie. And you know, more than a mouthful is a waste, anyway."

Kim decided to see if that was true. It was a rare opportunity, after all.

"I'm not convinced," Kim said after a while. She lowered herself on Shego to press their breasts together, feeling the saliva she'd left behind. "I don't usually feel like any part of these goes to waste."

Shego placed her hands on both sides of her borrowed assets as their legs intertwined. "There's not a square inch on either of these bodies that is going to go to waste."

"No, there isn't." Kim kissed Shego again. "Besides, maybe I'll still grow a little."

"I hate to break it to you, Kimmie, but at your age you probably aren't going to get an upgrade unless you get pregnant, or fat." Shego looked at her sternly. "Don't do either. I like you best the way you are."

"Usually, or right now?"

"Naked and pressed against me works."

Kim let out a little laugh, "You are right. We've missed a week already, and for no good reason, but there's no better time to catch up than right now."

Shego's phone went off.

"Gah! I'm gonna murder him."

"Are you answering that?"

"The moment's already ruined." Shego retrieved her phone and then tossed it to Kim. "It's for you, anyway."

Kim took a couple of seconds to compose herself, then reluctantly accepted the call. "What the heck is it, Dr. D?" The annoyance at the man came easily enough, given the circumstances.

"Shego, where are you?"

Kim pulled the phone away from her eat. Dr. Drakken should really work on developing an inside voice. "At my place. I'm taking the weekend off in compensation for you ruining the last one."

"Mmh. So you won't be coming to the lair for a couple of days?"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, no. Rest and recuperation is also important, Shego. I don't want to seem like a slave driver."

"That's... that's very generous of you, Dr. D."

"Think nothing of it, Shego. I look after my evil family."

"Sure. I'm afraid I haven't been able to get the stuff you were looking for."

"Stuff? What stuff? Ah. Oh, yes, Shego, now I remember. Never mind, Hench probably doesn't have the right kind, anyway, the cheap fraud."

"O—kay."

"I'll see you when you get back, Shego. Have a nice weekend, now."

"Thanks," Kim said. "You too."

Kim looked at Shego. "Did he sound off to you?"

"He always sounds off, but yeah, that was just weird. You don't suppose he's caught on that you're not me?"

"I don't think I've done anything too suspicious, and he's really not very observant." A thought occurred to Kim. "Could he be trying to keep me away from the lair? He better not be working on those robot babes while I'm gone."

"What robot babes?"

"Never mind, if he does, I'll just show him the error of his ways." Kim turned on the glow in demonstration.

Shego smirked. "You seem to be growing into the role."

"I never knew what you put up with." Kim grimaced. "And of course he had to call right now."

"Yeah, he pretty much killed the mood. He can ruin my day even from half a continent away."

"Should I have this phone?"

"No, it's my phone."

"Yeah, but he doesn't actually have any way to get hold of me."

"That's a good thing, Kimmie. It's good that you are taking your new responsibilities seriously, but let's not get overboard. Can't have him taking me for granted."

"No, of course not. I mean, why should his employee be available at his convenience?"

"Exactly." Shego got up from the bed, comfortable in Kim's skin. "I'll go brush my teeth."

"Aren't you going to put some clothes on?"

"Nah, I'm fine. Besides, I'd just need to undress again, for shower, or, you know, other things."

Kim watched her naked body walk across the room. It really didn't look all that bad from this angle. She thought Shego was adding some swing to her hips to make her sexy little butt more appealing, but it was hardly necessary. "I thought the mood was gone."

Shego spun around at the bathroom door to give Kim a good view of herself. "Not for long," she said, before disappearing from view.

Kim and Shego's body both appeared to agree. "Shower and other things, huh?" Kim got up and followed Shego. She didn't bother to dress, either.

* * *

The weekend was very pleasant, if surprisingly exhausting, but all good things must come to an end, and Shego departed on Sunday afternoon so she'd be ready for school the next morning. In between the other things Kim and Shego had also spent some quiet time just enjoying each other's company. Kim had even done her homework with Shego, well, not exactly helping, but being there, anyway. It had been surprisingly domestic, and remembering it now gave Kim a strange fuzzy feeling different from the usual thrill she associated with Shego.

Kim contemplated returning to Drakken's lair, but decided she'd much rather spend the night at the apartment. That way she'd have some peace and quiet for the morning rituals, too, and wouldn't have to queue for the bathroom. There were definitely some benefits to living on one's own. It was also more than a little lonely. Kim wasn't really used to being all on her own. She was usually in the company of her family or friends, or, best of all, with Shego.

Kim tried to lounge around, losing herself in pleasant remembrances. She managed to do it for a minute or two before she felt a restless urge to do something more productive. She got up and paced for a while. There really wasn't much that she could do. She'd dealt with the homework, and since she was in the body of a wanted criminal she couldn't exactly go out. She spent a few minutes straightening the place up, but Shego had got the apartment very much to be their little love nest, and it was too empty and too rarely used to really get very messy.

Kim decided to call Ron. She had been neglecting him lately, anyway. Unfortunately that seemed to be mutual, as Ron wasn't picking up his phone. What could he be doing on Sunday evening? Playing video games with Felix, probably. Or did they show wrestling on Sundays? He could still have answered, even if to tell her he was busy.

Kim called up Wade instead. It had been a while since she'd gotten an update, and Wade, at least, always answered.

"Hi, Kim. What's up?"

"Nothing much. I was wondering if there have been any developments."

"Kind of. We found a book that I think was Dr. Drakken's inspiration."

"That's great! Why didn't you call me right away?" Kim supposed it could have been her phone being off for a couple of days.

"Because it's useless. It's just some loony book about astral projection and out-of-body experiences. It might have been what gave Dr. Drakken his idea, but it won't get us any closer to a solution."

"Astral projection? That does sound pretty out there."

"It's not real, Kim. It's not even pseudoscience, it's just complete nonsense."

"I'm definitely out of my body, though."

"And there is some perfectly rational explanation for it. I'll keep digging."

"You do that. Keep me updated. Uh... as best you can. I might not always be available; it's this sitch, you know."

"I got you, Kim. You hang in there, we'll find a way to get you back to your own body."

"If anyone can do it, it's you, Wade. Anything else going on?"

"Nothing out of the usual. Sorry, I have to go now. Mom insists I go down to eat dinner with her. Talk to you later, Kim."

"Bye, Wade."

Kim put away the phone and looked around. She was still alone. Lonely as it was, it also meant that she was free to do anything. Since she was currently Shego the indolent criminal rather than Kim Possible the conscientious schoolgirl, she didn't need to worry about going to sleep early, either. She could enjoy her freedom in any way she saw fit.

Kim couldn't think of anything to do. She browsed the inTerrorNet forums for a while and went to bed early.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Shego suppressed a yawn as she put Kim's car back in gear and rejoined the flow of morning traffic.

"Are you okay?" Ron said from the passenger seat.

"Yeah, I just had a late night."

"I guess you don't usually have to worry about waking up for school."

"Nope. One of the many, many wonderful benefits of the criminal lifestyle."

Ron held up a hand, palm towards her. "Don't try to tempt me to the side of evil. My convictions are firm." Ron let his arm fall back down as his head slumped forwards. "Even with the school mornings."

"I'm not."

"That's right. There's nothing you could say that would make me abandon the side of justice."

"This conversation is suddenly sounding eerily familiar."

"...Uh, what other benefits are there?"

"Okay, Hego never asked me that. Ron, I am not trying to tempt you to the side of evil."

"Wow, you totally sounded like KP right there."

"Doy; I have her voice."

"But why not? In the stories the hot villainesses are always trying to tempt the good guys down the wrong path."

"Why would I bother with the sidekick when I can tempt Kimmie instead?"

"Oooooh! Now I get it."

"How is this suddenly a revelation?"

"Wait, how would that even work with you in each other's bodies?"

"Hello, why do you think I insisted she take over for me? She's getting a first-hand look at how sweet a life of crime can be." Shego gave Ron a sidewise glance. "What sort of tempting were you thinking of?"

"The vampy kind? I mean, back at the museum it almost looked like you were about to get it on."

"Kim was the one doing the vamping."

"But she was pretending to be you and you were her. Wait, does that mean you're making KP seduce you as her to the side of evil?"

"What? That doesn't even make any sense. Anyway, she was pretending to be Snake Charmer, not me."

"Yeah, she did say you two had a bit of a Snake Charmer—Fearless Ferret thing going."

"Are you still on that?"

"I guess it's understandable, but isn't it a little weird with you two having switched bodies?"

"You're not even listening to me, are you? What do you think? Would you get it on with yourself if you switched bodies with your... partner?"

"KP? I'm not sure we're really quite there... I mean, sure, I've been thinking about asking her out, maybe, but that'd be moving pretty fast..."

"That's not what I meant. Wait, you have a thing for Kimmie?"

"No? Maybe? I mean, who doesn't?"

"Good point. Okay, I'd rather not picture the two of you together, so let's go with the classic: would you do your, ugh, clone?"

"It's not like I'm going to run into a clone of me."

"Don't be so sure, it happens much more often than you'd think."

"I'm not sure, I mean, I'm pretty hot stuff and all, but it would be awkweird."

"Because you're you, or because you're a guy?"

"Aren't those the same thing?"

"What if your clone was a girl?"

"How would it be my clone then?"

"Clones can be tweaked. It wouldn't be a big job, in your case."

Ron looked upwards into the distance, clearly thinking about it. "Me as a girl... it'd still be like masturbation, right? Uh, not that I... uh..."

"Ron, everybody masturbates. Of all the things you should be ashamed of, that's not one."

"Everybody? Even... girls?"

"Yes. Everybody includes girls."

"Uh, you, uh, too?"

"Sure."

"But you're in KP's body. Wouldn't that be, like..."

"Like violating her young nubile body? She can violate my body right back, so it's completely fair."

"What if she's not into that?"

"Everybody, Ron."

"I don't want to think about KP doing that."

The bulge in his pants argued otherwise, but Shego decided to let it go. Besides, it might have been a naked mole-rat in his pocket. At least she was pretty sure she'd managed to steer the conversation away from her and Kim being together.

"If you did it with her body and she did it with yours, wouldn't that be like you two having sex?"

Or she might have not. "Then what if we had sex? Would that be like the two of us masturbating?"

Ron didn't give an answer as such, though he did vocalize things, accompanied by amusing facial expressions. He was still at it as Shego parked the car.

"So you have a thing for Kimmie, huh?" Shego turned to look at him as she engaged the parking brake in as suggestive manner as she possibly could; which, to be frank, was quite suggestive indeed. "This must be pretty confusing for you." Shego opened the door to get out. "You coming?"

Ron swallowed hard and looked down in his lap, then hurriedly placed his hands on it. "I'll, uh, I'll just wait here a moment. Can't be seen to be too early, heh heh."

"Suit yourself. Just make sure the doors are locked." Shego got out, then leaned back in for one last comment. "And no masturbating in Kimmie's car."

* * *

Winding up teen boys was not exactly challenging, but it still amused Shego enough that her good cheer lasted almost ten minutes into the first lesson. Shego felt like an old hand at handling high school, as she'd now done it for four years and a week. She believed she was over the initial shock, and her coping strategies were coming back. And really, listening to the teachers wasn't that bad compared to Dr. Drakken, even if Drakken's lectures were more of a participation sport. Shego didn't think teachers would take kindly to sarcastic interruptions, or Kim to the resulting detention. Well, Shego could easily spend a class or two replaying the events of the weekend in her head.

"Kim, you know the answer to the question, don't you?"

Or she could if the teachers would leave her alone. "Um."

* * *

Having survived the first half of classes Shego met Monique for lunch, as usual. "Monique, would you have sex with your clone?"

"Right, because that question isn't random at all."

"Well, the original scenario was body-swap; clones," Shego said and shuddered, "were just easier for Ron to process."

"Ah. I guess that means you would."

"Yep." Shego leaned a little closer to the attractive girl. "I'd definitely do your clone."

"Um," Monique said and looked to the side. Then she smirked and looked back at Shego "Just my clone?"

"Are you offering? Because I totally would, I'd just need to check in with Kim—me. I promised not to do anything she wouldn't."

"And what makes you think she hasn't done me?"

"Please, we both know I was her closet key."

"True enough. That girl was so majorly in denial she even fooled me." Monique's expression suddenly brightened. "A clone would be really handy, though."

"That's what she—"

"I could try on clothes twice as fast, and see them from every angle."

"Huh, I never thought of that. Maybe clones would have a legitimate use, after all."

"That's the one thing you'd consider a legitimate use for a clone?"

"Can you name another one?"

"We could split the shifts at work."

"And the paycheck."

"Bummer. Classes at school?"

"Only one of you would benefit. The other one would still be stuck at school."

"That's not... never mind. Ah, we'd both be stuck at school anyway, or get into trouble for truancy."

"See? There's nothing else."

"Spare organs?"

"Anything beyond a kidney, and you'd need a new clone."

"Yeah, that wouldn't be too nice. I suppose shopping is it."

"Clones are stupid and useless. I really don't understand why so many scientists, mad or otherwise, are so into them."

"Maybe they just want to be able to say they did it. Kinda like Ron with the cafeteria lunch."

"He's welcome to it. I'm just going to eat these Sunday leftovers." Finally she'd remembered to pack a lunch. She was feeling confident about her newly dusted off high school survival skills. She felt ready for anything.

* * *

Shego was heading for her next class after lunch when somebody called Kim's name. Shego spun around at the voice and came face to face with the pretty blue-eyed blonde from the cheer team. Well, one of the two. At least it was more specific than 'hot brunette'. Middleton High School had an absurdly attractive cheer squad, unless that was just Kim's hormones talking.

Kim was the captain, though. Shego wondered how much say she had in the selection process.

"Yes?" It would help if she remembered the blonde's name, though. "How's the practice coming along?"

"We decided to go back to your routine. Bonnie wasn't happy, but the rest of us were unanimous."

"Yeah, I'm not surprised."

"I thought that might have been your goal, but this close to the regionals really isn't the best place for that kind of play."

"Sorry about that. But, you know, I've been pretty busy, too."

"We all are, but this is important. Since we went back to your routine, you can come back to lead the practices, right?"

"I'm sure you're doing a bang up job."

"It's not the same. You'll come to the practice today, right?" The blonde looked at Shego with big, pleading eyes. "Pretty please?"

Shego reflected that if a girl this pretty had looked at her like this when she actually was in high school, she would have been done for. It was a good thing she was older now, and no longer susceptible to the charms of teenage girls.

"Sure, I'll be there," Shego found herself saying.

At least the brilliant smile she received in response took the sting out a little bit.

* * *

Shego obviously hadn't bothered to bring Kim's cheerleader uniform with her, so she didn't have anything to change into. She accompanied the other cheerleaders to the locker room all the same, just to be sociable. She messaged Kim for a quick rundown on the identities of her fellow cheerleaders as she waited for them to change into their uniforms, not-ogling them. Most of them just stripped down to their underwear, but a couple of the more endowed ones changed bras too. Some of them made a bit of a production of it, too, which was not something she remembered from gym class; maybe it was a cheerleader thing. It brightened her day in any case.

"You know, nobody here really minds it, Kim."

"Huh?" Shego had been too absorbed to notice a girl step up to her.

"I mean, we know you aren't a creep. And, well..." She bit her lip as she looked at Shego from the corners of her eyes. "It is a little flattering, too. Just make sure to ask before you take photos, and make sure they don't end up on some sketchy site, OK?"

"I'm not taking pictures, I'm just having a discussion."

The girl leaned closer to peek at her phone, and she could smell her floral perfume. She looked back at her with teasing eyes and a tolerant smile. "Sure."

Shego looked down at her phone. It showed a picture of the blonde—Tara, apparently—and a rather flirty picture, too. The coyly averted eyes and the shy smile were quite arresting. Promotional picture, maybe? She had to wonder why Kim would have that particular picture handy on her phone. When she moved on to other pictures she discovered many of them were in the same vein.

"Uh, how long have you... uh."

"All along? It's not a big deal." She took a couple of steps back, her arms behind her back. "You know, if you were to ask somebody out, some of us might not say no."

When the girl turned to undress with a cheeky smile, Shego had to wonder if Kim's relationship with her fellow cheerleaders might not be a little more complicated than she'd let on.

When the other girls were all changed, Kim let Tara lead them into the gym. They seemed eager enough, with the exception of the pouting Bonnie.

Shego took a seat at the bleachers. "Alright, let's see it."

"Aren't you going to join us?"

"I want to see where you are. I'm sure you've done a great job, Tara."

The blonde beamed at her. Shego could almost understand why Kim went out of her way to be nice to people. Getting that kind of reaction from people did feel pretty good.

"Okay, girls. Let's give Kim a show."

That was an interesting way to phrase it. Shego watched as the squad launched into action with smiles on their faces, Bonnie following others without outward complaint. Shego could definitely see Kim's hand in the choreography; she didn't know all that much about the more adventurous routines, but this one seemed to have a certain element of difficulty in its ambitious acrobatics.

It was also surprisingly sensual. It fell short of risque, but the artistic presentation definitely tended towards flirtatious, and the expressions on the girls' faces told her they knew it. She knew Kim had a bit of a naughty side, but she'd believed she mostly showed it with her. She wondered what Kim thought when she watched her nubile cohorts perform like this. Did she react much like Shego herself, or was she too mission-focused to even notice. With Kim, it could really go either way.

The routine came to a semi-spectacular finish, and after holding the pose for a while the cheerleaders untangled their limbs and looked at each other with pleased smiles. The smiles were a little tired and they were panting, which put very inappropriate thoughts in Shego's head. The girls turned towards her, looking for approval.

"The ending isn't quite right, since we're missing a member, but how was the rest of it?"

How would Kim respond? She was generally nice, but she was also a harsh taskmistress. "It looked really good, girls. I knew you were the right choice for this, Tara."

Shego's reward was another brilliant smile. That could get addictive. "Thank you, Kim. But you must have some pointers for us."

"Yes, well, there's always room for improvement, right?" Kim could no doubt point out a number of things, but what could she do? She really, really shouldn't have put herself in this position. Shego silently cursed pretty young girls and their pretty smiles.

When her backpack beeped, she practically lunged at her salvation. "Hold that thought, Tara. I need to take this. Could be life and death, you know."

Shego could hardly believe her luck as she retrieved the Kimmunicator and answered the call. "Perfect timing, Ne—Wade. You weren't spying on me, were you?"

"Of course not, Kim, why would I spy on the cheer practice? There's an urgent call for assistance. Kim tho—you should probably take it."

Remarkably, Shego still hadn't done a legitimate mission as Kim. Given that Kim actually seemed to be doing her part, she probably owed her one. Above all, she needed an excuse to get out of here, pronto. "Okay, give me the deets. Details. Give me the details."

"It's probably best if you hear it straight from the source. I'll put you through."

Wade's image faded and another took its place. Shego's blood went cold. "Greetings, Kim Possible, it's wonderful to see you again, though I can only wish it was under more pleasant circumstances," Hego said. "A dastardly villain from our past has reared his head again, and seeing how our super-team is a little short of the original complement, I was wondering if maybe you'd be up for lending some timely aid to fellow crime-fighters."

Shego looked back at the cheerleaders. She could either try to bluff her way through a cheer practice, make a fool of herself and mess up Kim's reputation; or she could go help her brothers.

One of the many things Shego didn't miss about her hero days was having to make impossible decisions.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Kim Possible woke up in Shego's bed, alone. She reached to grab her phone and turned off the alarm. She lay in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling and missing Shego. She was reluctant to get up. She never felt like this on school mornings; she was always eager to get up, to meet her friends and the new tasks for the day. She knew she needed to get out of bed and head back to Dr. Drakken's lair, but she really didn't want to. Her eyes widened. Was this what it felt like to have a job?

No, that couldn't be right. Her parents liked their jobs well enough; her dad in particular could hardly wait to get to play with rockets somebody else paid for. "Note to self: pursue a satisfying career." She'd always sort of assumed she would, but she was almost out of high school and college bound. She needed to actually put in the effort to figure out what that career was. "Can I make freak-fighting a career? And should I worry that I'm suddenly talking to myself?"

Kim dragged herself out of the bed and went through her new morning routines. She packed up a fresh batch of clean clothes, since she didn't know how long she'd be stuck at the time-share lair. She donned a scarf and a pair of goggles for the ride to work. The hover car could be pretty fun to fly, but a long commute was a long commute, no matter what you were driving. At least flying allowed her to take a straight route and avoid the morning traffic.

* * *

After a long and mostly uneventful flight Kim touched down outside the town, as before, and hid the car, though she wasn't sure if it was strictly necessary. It would have been much more convenient to park by the lair. She didn't think she really needed a secret getaway vehicle. Well, it wasn't that long a walk, and exercise was good for her; not that she didn't get enough of it.

Entering a villain's lair without the intention of busting their plans was already becoming routine. Even though she definitely intended to bust what ever plan Dr. Drakken was working on. Kim was annoyed to note that there was no-one in the entry hall, or in the break room, even though she had instructed that somebody keep an eye on it at all times. There were two bags filled with cans resting against the floor that hadn't been there when she'd left.

There was nobody in the central room either, even though Dr. Drakken was usually up and mumbling about by this time. There was some equipment on one of the worktables, covered by a sheet. Kim's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Had Dr. Drakken gone ahead with the Bebe project after all? The mass didn't look femininely shaped, but maybe it was a work in progress. Kim stepped up to the table and lifted the sheet to see what lay beneath. It was a karaoke machine.

"What?"

A second look at the room revealed empty pizza boxes and more cans on other tables. Kim walked into the corridor leading to the bedrooms. There was still no movement in the lair. She pressed her ear against Dr. Drakken's door and heard snoring. At this hour? The door to the henchmen's room was closed, but it didn't have a lock on it. Kim opened it and looked inside. The henchmen were sleeping in their bunks, all of them. Not all of them had their covers on, and apparently preferred to sleep in their underwear. Kim hurriedly closed the door, shuddering.

Kim returned to her room and considered the situation. She has suspected Dr. Drakken had wanted her out of the lair to do something behind her back. Had that something only been a boys' night in? Was that a typical event? She considered consulting her counterpart, but she didn't want to bother her in class. Kim suddenly smirked as she realized how she could play this in a way she was sure Shego would approve.

* * *

Klaxons wailed throughout the lair as the henchmen came stumbling out of their room, one by one, in various stages of dress, one of them jumping on one foot as he tried to get his boot on. Kim stood in the center of the central chamber with a chronometer in hand.

"Disappointing, very disappointing. If that had been an actual intruder, the base could be blowing up by now. I bet that would light a fire under your feet."

The henchmen milled about at the edge of the room, unsure of what was going on. "Uhhh... what..?"

"You're the saddest bunch I ever met, but as luck would have it, I have already planned a training regime to whip you into shape." That was quite true. Kim knew that she probably shouldn't be helping the opposition in any way, but the henchmen's uselessness offended her sensibilities. Besides, the biggest weakness Dr. Drakken had would always be Dr. Drakken.

"Shego, what is up with all this racket? Can't a man sleep in peace?"

"It's half past nine already, Dr. D. Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

"Ugh, nonsense, Shego. I am already wise, and I'm not after wealth; I'm after world domination!" Dr. Drakken's voice rose for his last words, then he cringed. "And keep your voice down. A man is entitled to a peaceful night's sleep after a hard day."

"And what was your hard day?"

"If you must know, Shego, I enlisted the help of these fine fellows for the brainstorming of my next plan, seeing how you have not been very supportive of late. We had a very productive session when you weren't here to bring me down."

"Define productive."

"Bah, I'll show you!" Dr. Drakken cringed again and then walked up to the large screen, not bothered by still being in his night clothes, or the henchmen awkwardly huddled together and surreptitiously attempting to straighten out their clothes.

"There! Ngh. What does that look like to you?"

"Like something sad, lonely men would come up with during a night of drinking."

"Exactly! Wait, what?" Dr. Drakken finally looked at the screen, which showed a version of the blue robot woman with much more exaggerated female features. "That... how did that get there?"

Dr. Drakken's fingers danced on the controls and screens flickered forwards. "It's in here somewhere... I assure you, Shego, you will be amazed... hnngh, I couldn't have just dreamed it..." Suddenly the screen shut off. "I'll find it later. I'm going back to bed. And leave these worthy fellows alone. I declare this a day of rest."

"I'm just looking to improve the quality of your workforce. We wouldn't want to sabotage ourselves, would we?"

"No, of course we wouldn't, but everything within reason, Shego."

"Say, you're looking a little flabby yourself, Dr. D. Maybe you'd want to participate?"

"No! Ugh. No, I feel just fine. I'll just... I'll just get out of your way. The henchmen are your department, after all."

Dr. Drakken walked out of the room, ignoring the pleading looks the henchmen were directing at him. Kim decided not to interfere, as it seemed like his next plan was still firmly in the nebulous future. She turned to the henchmen instead.

"Well, then. I'm thinking we'll start with a few laps around the building, and after you're limbered up, you can clean up this pigsty." Kim lit up her hands to inspire more enthusiasm in her squad. "Now hop to it!"

* * *

Putting the henchmen through their paces felt satisfying, and Kim felt confident Shego couldn't find any fault in the way she was fulfilling her duties, but that could hardly occupy her entire day. Kim retreated to Shego's room to contemplate her next move. She decided to plop down on Shego's bed and browse the forums on the inTerrorNet, to stay abreast of upcoming villainous plots. The villains, it seemed, really liked to gossip, and brag about their future plans. There was a lot of big talk that didn't lead to anything and would get mocked later, but there was useful intelligence, too. For example, the Fashionistas had just escaped from prison, and Kim suspected she might cross paths with them again, sooner or later.

Kim resolved to arrange inTerrorNet access for herself after she got the current sitch sorted out, as the forums were too useful a resource to ignore. She just needed to remember to never wander over to the creative subforums. And find out if anyone had developed a technology for removing unwanted memories.

Kim was distracted when her phone rang. "Go, Wade."

"Hi, Kim. You just got a hit on the site I think you need to see."

Kim opened a tab to check out the details. A mischievous smirk grew on her face as she watched on. "Oh, yes. This one we definitely have to accept. Shego needs to hear this as soon as possible."

It looked like the rest of her day was booked. She just needed to leave the henchmen some very firm instructions before she left.

* * *

Kim Possible set Dr. Drakken's hover car gently down on top of the Go Tower and stepped out. She stretched her limbs; it had been the second long flight of the day. She expected that it would be worth it, though. She could hardly wait for Shego's reaction.

"What the heck are you doing here?"

"That wasn't the reaction I was looking for." Kim turned around towards the source of her voice. "I was rather... what are you wearing?"

"Mission clothes," Shego said. "You still haven't explained your presence."

"Uh, you got the message, didn't you?"

"I did, and that explains why I'm here. But I am not helping my brothers."

"Shego, you promised—"

"And I'm keeping that promise: you are helping my brothers. But I am not, so you can just get out of here right now. My reputation, remember?"

"You've helped them before."

"Last time you barged into Dr. D's lair and practically dragged me with you. Hego asked you, not me. You don't even know what he needs help with. It could be something silly."

"He said it was an old villain."

"So it's definitely something silly. Unless it's Electronique, in which case it's just trouble. Can you believe she used to hit on me?"

"A villainess hitting on a young heroine? You're right, that doesn't sound very credible."

"Look, it was completely different! She was way older than me, and had weird-colored skin, and... Don't you dare say anything."

"I wasn't going to."

"Then you aren't doing me very well."

"You've never complained."

"Now you are doing me very well. But you still need to go."

"You are being very unreasonable."

"I am being very reasonable and don't you dare try to use those puppy eyes with my face."

"Aww... but you look so cute like that."

"How do you... no, never do that again. Not even if you're alone."

"Good luck enforcing that one."

"Whatever. Just get out of here. I've got this."

"Not before you explain that outfit. I don't think our agreement extended to random costume changes."

"What, you don't like?" Shego adopted a very Kim Possible pose. She was wearing a purple short-sleeved top and dark trousers with a holster strapped to her thigh. All in all it was a lot sleeker look than Kim's mission outfit of crop top and cargo pants, and Kim couldn't deny it looked good on her.

"It's not that I don't like it, I just don't think you should change it without even informing me." At least Shego hadn't gone for a sexy heroine look. Kim could see herself wearing that.

"Pssh, you told me to uphold your reputation. An upgrade from that fashion disaster you used to wear is clearly in keeping with the spirit of our agreement."

"Where did you even get that? That's definitely not off the rack."

"You aren't the only one with contacts."

"I guess." Kim wondered if there were any villainous fashion designers; apart from the Fashionistas, of course. "Hey, wait a second—"

"And now that we've decisively dealt with the source of your new threads, it's time for you to go. Shoo, shoo."

"I still think I need to stick around to make sure you live up to my name."

"What, don't you trust me?"

"No."

"Fair enough, I guess. But hey, Stoppable's here to keep me in line. Don't you trust him?"

"I... that's really unfair, Shego. And you're just making me think you're up to something."

"I'm not. Scout's honor."

"Somehow I doubt you were ever a Pixie Scout."

"I'm not getting rid of you, am I? Fine, but stay out of sight. The world doesn't need to think I'm helping my stupid brothers."

"I was kinda looking forward to meeting your brothers as you. Don't you think they maybe ought to know what's going on with us?"

"No. They very definitely do not need to no anything about it. As far as they will ever know, you're here to lend them a hand, and I was never here."

"Fine. I'll stay out of sight and play a guardian angel. You can't expect me to not charge in if you guys get into trouble."

"The heroes always get into trouble. You're only allowed to step in if we can't get out of it. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Now leave me alone, you need to go meet my brothers."

Kim watched appreciatively as Shego turned to go back inside the tower. Maybe she had a point. Her behind definitely looked better in tighter pants.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Shego tried to mentally prepare herself as she returned to the Go Tower's control center where Ron and the rest of Team Go were waiting for her. She didn't enjoy interacting with her brothers at the best of times, and in the role of Kim she would even have to play nice. Kim's proximity, for once, didn't help her mood. She shuddered.

"Ah, you're back," Hego said. "Glad to have you here."

"Sorry, I had to take care of something." Shego vaguely gestured towards the Kimmunicator she realized she was not carrying. The bulky thing spoiled the lines of the new outfit, so she had given it to Ron to hold on to. "Now," Shego said, and steeled herself. Technically, she was speaking with Kim's lips, not her own. "What's the sitch?"

"The situation is that yet another of our old foes has returned from obscurity to threaten the fair city of Go... City once again."

"Which one?"

"Geneus, with his Killer Clones."

"Killers clowns? Aren't clowns scary enough as they are?" Ron turned towards Shego. "I remember you used to be scared of clowns, KP."

"No... Ron, that was you." Shego felt that was a fair bet. Kim, as far as she knew, wasn't afraid of anything except being seen in off-brand clothes, while her sidekick was afraid of most everything. "And it's not clowns, it's even worse: clones."

"Well, let's not focus on the mistakes of the past." Ron turned back towards Team Go. "Which genius are we talking about here?"

"Geneus, with an 'e'. He was once a leading geneticist at Go University, but his obsession with cloning led him down the path of evil."

"Hmm, I was hoping for a villain of a type KP didn't already have in her rogues gallery. Genes sound like DNAmy's deal. She combines animals to make real-life Cuddle Buddies."

"Geneus doesn't create monstrous hybrids in contradiction to all laws of God and man; he's looking to create the perfect human being by genetic modification of his clones."

"Ugh, clones," Wego said. "Creepy," Wego continued.

"Why are you guys weirded out?"

"Why wouldn't we be?" Wego said. "Do you know how creepy it is," Wego said, and Wego continued: "to be fighting clones of yourself?"

"But your power is to make clones of yourselves!"

"No, it's not." "We create duplicates; that's completely different."

"Why's he back, anyway? Didn't he retire with the perfect female clone of himself he finally created?" Shego remembered too late that Kim probably shouldn't know that.

"Ah, well, Her left him to look for someone more perfect."

"Uh, excuse me, I believe the correct form is 'she left him'." Shego hadn't expected Ron of all people to wax pedantic on anything that didn't involve video games or fake Mexican fast food.

"'Her', is what he called her."

"And she can't recognize perfection when she sees it, anyway," Mego said. "Can you believe Her dumped me after only two dates?"

"Only too easily," Shego said. Well, the second date was hard to believe, but that could have just been Mego exaggerating.

"Yes, that is hardly surprising," Hego said. "Her has very high standards."

"Her dumped you, too, didn't she."

"Look, she was very clear that it was her, not me."

"You... you wouldn't happen to have a picture of Her, by any chance? Just so I'd know what to look out for."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this. So if a girl is hot enough, it doesn't even matter to you lot if she's on the other side of the law?" Shego shook Kim's head. "Men. Just... men."

"Yes, well, Her isn't the issue here: Geneus is."

"Do you have any idea where he is?"

"Yes; he has taken over his old lab." Hego indicated a screen showing a view of a sleek building on the outskirts of Go City.

"Wasn't it shuttered?"

"He ignored the police tape and 'keep out' signs and strolled right in, the fiend."

"Yeah, that's terrible. If it's obvious where he is, couldn't the police handle this one?"

"You can hardly expect the regular police to go after a dangerous supervillain. This is a job for supermen." Hego posed for a moment with his back straight and his impressive chest out, then deflated a little as he shot a guilty glance at Shego. "Or women."

Shego walked towards the console with the screens. "Just out of interest, this thing isn't still set up for two-way communications with the villains, is it?"

"It's a little late to be making adjustments to the equipment at this point. It is quite sophisticated technology."

"Great." Shego surreptitiously turned the small screen showing a view of the tower's roof back on. There was no sign of Kim anymore. "So why are we discussing plans against Geneus here, where he could listen in, again?"

"We would hardly all fit in my apartment. Not to mention it would be highly suspicious."

"Those can't be the only possible options."

"'Possible', good one. You've got the right stuff, Kim. You don't mind if I call you Kim, do you?"

"All my friends call me Kim."

"Ah, good." Suddenly Hego looked worried. "Ah, we are friends, right?"

Did Kim consider Hego a friend? Or was he more of a colleague? Shego doubted she'd want him to keep calling her 'Ms. Possible', either way. "Just call me Kim."

"And you can call me, Kim, whenever you need me."

"I'll keep that in mind." Kim's voice was dry.

"Uh... Ah, you can call me, uh, Hego." Hego rubbed his broad neck. "Sorry; secret identity."

"I've already met you in civvies." Which was true either way; but it was Kim's run-in with him that had got her dragged into her brothers' mess again.

"Yeah, you're a Bueno Nacho manager with an unreasoning grudge on the naco."

"I told you, it didn't test well. But, anyway, we are getting sidetracked. Where were we again?"

"Discussing Geneus?"

"Yes, that's right. I propose a direct assault on his lab before he can create an army of clones to fight for him."

"Always with the direct assault," Mego said. " _I_ think we should start with reconnaissance, preferably by someone who can be inconspicuous."

"That wouldn't be me, then. Ron-man gets noticed wherever he goes."

"I was referring to me. Shrinking is a very useful power."

"Yeah, sure it is. Going in alone you're just going to walk into a trap."

"Not if he won't be expecting me."

"Of course he will be expecting you. Why wouldn't he? Team Go has made a pretty public comeback."

"I still say quick strike is the best way to go."

"Either way, I don't really see why you asked me for help. You should be able to handle this yourselves."

"Oh, that's because—"

"The last time we faced Geneus we had five members, and it seemed to me that you'd be the perfect person to fill in for Shego," Hego said, shooting an annoyed glance at Wego.

"You have no idea how right you are." Or did he? Could Kim possibly have told him, maybe even suggested that he call her? No, Shego was sure Kim wouldn't do that to her. This was just the universe messing with her again; it was how her life seemed to go.

"Uh, hello, I'm here, too." There was a high-pitched noise. "And Rufus; we're here too. That makes seven of us."

"Ah, yes, we mustn't forget the sidekicks. Do you have any input you'd like to offer?"

"Not really, I suppose. Usually we just try to sneak in, get captured, get loose, and destroy the lair."

"Yeah, it's funny how often that happens."

"You'd think one side would learn better at some point."

"Of course, we're a team, so rescues are also on the table."

"Shrinking comes in really ha—"

"Okay, we go with Hego's plan." That sounded very wrong to Shego, but it was better than standing here and listening to the pointless conversation. "Let's just get over there and get this over with. It's just one mad scientist, after all."

"Kim is right." Hego pointed one muscled arm towards the door. "Go, Team Go... and guests."

Shego massaged her temples and followed. The sooner they got this thing on the road, the sooner she could get out of here. "So, are we taking the jet?"

"Shego was the pilot, I don't have my license yet. But worry not, we can take the trusty Go-Mobile."

"Go-Mobile? Why not Go-Car?"

"Too close to go-kart." "Besides, it's not a car, it's a van."

"Have you considered calling it 'VanGo'?"

Shego slowed down a little, to let the gaggle of buffoons go ahead. She was a little surprised when Hego slowed down to pace her, but maybe he was being courteous to a guest. He did have a notion that being a hero called for certain chivalry.

"If you don't mind me saying so, your new costume looks really good on you, Kim."

"Thanks." Shego was surprised that he had even noticed, let alone thought to compliment her on it. While Hego had always been polite, he'd never been particularly thoughtful. "It's not really a costume, though, I don't go for the whole secret identity stuff. It's just an outfit."

"I was a little surprised. I hadn't heard anything about you changing your signature style."

"I just felt it was time for an upgrade, something a little more grown-up. This is the first time I'm using it."

"A little extra effort just for my sake? I'm flattered, Kim."

Had Hego actually made a little joke that wasn't based on a silly pun? The friendly grin on his lantern-jawed face suggested so. Perhaps his people skills had improved over the years. Shego had to admit that in his better moments he did cut a pretty heroic figure.

"Okay, Go-boys, let's saddle up and ride."

Of course, most of the time he was just a goof.

* * *

The Go-Mobile was literally just a van painted in Team Go's colors, but it got them to the general area of Geneus's lab. Hego again engaged Shego in small talk as they walked closer to the building.

"You know, Kim, it's a shame we only see each other when there is a crisis. It would be nice if we could get together socially, too."

"Hego, you really are embarrassing."

Shego had to agree with Mego. Was Hego so lonely he wanted to set up some kind of a superhero support club? "Well, I expect we are both quite busy."

"True enough, I suppose. Should we just rush it straight away?"

"Not without reconnoitering."

"Are you still on that?"

"Eh, just humor him, it'll make him feel more useful and easier to deal with."

"Intelligence is always useful."

"And in short enough supply."

"Mego, go in and take a look around."

"You got it, big guy." Mego shrunk down and sprinted for the lab.

"Actually, while he's doing that, I might make a circuit of the building, see if there are other entry points."

"Excellent idea, Kim. Should I come with you?"

"You just hold down the fort here, _big guy_. I won't be long."

Shego was relieved to get away from her brothers, if only for a moment. Unfortunately Ron followed her, but that was rather unavoidable.

"Soo, what's the plan, Shee... KP? Are we going to find a way into the ventilation ducts?"

"Is it always the vents with you guys?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I gotta ask: why do you never guard them?"

"Who guards ventilation ducts?"

"Nobody, apparently."

As she advanced around the perimeter of the facility, Shego spotted herself on the roof of a neighboring building. She sent a death-glare her way, warning Kim to stay out of this. Kim pressed her palms together and adopted such an angelic expression Shego couldn't see her as anything but Kim, face and costume notwithstanding. Shego wasn't fooled by the expression. Kim was nowhere near as innocent as she liked to present herself as, and she was clearly up to something.

Shego turned Kim's back on her and completed her circuit. There did indeed appear to be a way into the ventilation ducts from the roof, but she didn't want to go that way. Against Geneus, splitting up could well be a mistake, and frontal assault with all of them together should be sufficient, provided Geneus hadn't had time to make too many clones. Sometimes the simplest approach was the best. Shego rendezvoused with the group at the same time as Mego.

"Coast looks clear. Hardly any clones."

"Good work, Mego. Move, people. It's Go time."

Hego ripped the front doors off their hinges, and the group followed him in. The outer rooms were eerily quiet. Hego unerringly headed for the center of the facility; this was familiar ground for most of them, after all.

"This really feels like a trap."

"Of course it's a trap. It doesn't mean it's going to work."

"You think it might be a trap-trap?"

"Just shut your trap and be ready."

They reached the inevitable central chamber, and unlike the outer parts, it appeared to be in use. Lights were on, and bulky machines similar to the ones Geneus had force-grown his clones in sat on the floor. From behind them stepped a tall, well-muscled man in skintight, caped costume. He had some hemispherical object in his hand, but it didn't look like a weapon.

"Geneus," Hego said.

"Is everybody in Go City ripped?"

"Ah, Team Go," Geneus said in deep, cultured voice. "How predictable."

He raised the object in his hand to study it, momentarily ignoring the heroes. It looked like a large snow-globe with a figure inside it. With a shock Shego recognized the figure as mostly-naked Mego. She whirled towards the Mego beside her, but before she could take action he produced a shock-prod from somewhere and, grinning maliciously, struck Hego with it. The strongest member of Team Go went rigid with a jolt and then pitched forward to the floor. A dozen or more of Geneus's combat clones poured into the chamber.

"Welcome to my trap."

Shego prepared for combat, even if the odds looked hopeless. She briefly turned towards Ron before battle was joined. "This is why I hate clones."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Kim Possible kept an eye on the facility Team Go had entered just minutes before as she called up Wade again. There was no activity visible on the outside.

"What's up, Kim?"

"I'd really, really like to know what's going on in there. Any chance you can get a feed for me?"

"I can't find any cameras to tap into, but I can get the Kimmunicator's camera. Assuming it is turned back on. Hold on, you only have your phone, right?"

"Yeah. A spare Kimmunicator would have been handy right about now."

"If this situation lasts longer, I'll need to make you another one."

"It might be a good idea in any case. Do you think you could make it a little sleeker, please and thank you? Shego took the liberty of getting me a new set of mission clothes, and they don't have much in the way of pockets."

"The Kimmunicator is starting to look a little bulky these days, huh? I have some ideas on how I could slim it down, but I'd need to discard some of the functions."

"I don't think it really needs to be able to turn into a robot, Wade."

"Everything needs to be able to turn into a robot, Kim."

"Uh-huh. How's it coming with that signal?"

"Let's set up a video call, and I can patch you in. I hope you have good service."

Kim did as instructed and feed from inside the facility appeared on her phone screen. It was a suspiciously well-framed picture, from high angle and showing most of a large chamber. The room was near the center of the building, if the blueprints Wade had acquired were still accurate. Something pink briefly appeared at the very front of the picture.

"Was that Rufus giving a thumbs up?"

"I think so."

Kim shook her head. Ron's pet was seriously weird, but he came in handy. Sometimes Kim found herself guiltily thinking that bringing Rufus on was among Ron's more valuable contributions.

In the very center of the room, between two large cylindrical devices, stood a bald man in a skintight bodysuit and a cape. It was an outrageous costume, but he had the sculpted physique to pull it off. Kim took him to be Geneus. Behind him stood half a dozen figures that, at least on the small screen, looked to have very similar builds, though plainer jumpsuits.

"Wow, I didn't think mad scientists came that ripped."

"Neither did I."

On one wall, in heavy restraints, was a man with an even more impressive physique: Hego. Near him were the Wego, trapped under a transparent dome barely big enough for both of them. Kim assumed it was to prevent them from creating copies of themselves. She couldn't see herself or Mego in the picture, but Ron was tied to a simple chair right in front of the villain.

"Yep, it definitely looks like rescue time."

"Be careful, Kim. If he managed to take down the entire Team Go..."

"Yeah, yeah. This isn't my first time around, Wade."

Kim stowed her phone—thankfully Shego's costume had a discreet pocket for one—and made for the roof of the lab. She didn't have her hairdryer grapple, but the building proved easy to climb even without it. She approached the ventilation system. She did have the tools to remove the cover, but she also had Shego's glow. What would Shego do? Not care about property damage, that's what. Kim sliced the cover off in one quick move; to stay in character, of course, and not because she enjoyed the opportunity to play an irresponsible criminal.

Kim entered the ventilation ducts and pulled out the phone again. She wanted to listen in, but not give away her position, so she plugged in headphones. She started carefully working her way through the ducts while keeping an eye on the situation below.

" _My apologies for getting you into this mess,"_ Hego said, looking somewhere below the camera with a wry smile. Presumably Shego was restrained there.

" _Don't mention it,"_ came the dry response. Kim didn't think it sounded quite like her. _"_ _You did_ _say_ _you'd like to hang out more."_

" _I see your fetching female addition is as feisty as your_ _former_ _member, if not as annoying to contain."_ Geneus gestured towards Hego. _"Raw strength is so much easier to deal with than exotic_ _energy fields_ _. That's not exactly my_ _area of expertise_ _."_

There was a moment of complete silence until Ron dutifully stepped up. _"So what is your field, Mr. Geneus?"_

" _I'm glad you asked,_ _Mr. Stoppable._ _Genetic enhancement. People get hung up on my clones, but they are merely a means to an end. My true calling is perfecting the human form."_ He theatrically gestured at himself.

" _You_ _'_ _re bald,"_ Ron said.

" _Also, you suck,"_ Shego contributed from off screen.

" _My personal grooming choices are beside the point. I am always on the lookout for valuable genes, and Ms. Possible's reputation suggest she could be a great boon to my work. Team Go I know of old, and unfortunately their extraordinary abilities are not found in their genome."_

" _If you want to experiment on KP, you'll have to go through me first."_

" _What a fortuitous proclamation. I was planning on doing exactly that. I would hardly rush with such a valuable specimen. You... don't look very impressive, but you make the perfect test subject for my current project."_

Without any sign Kim could see two of the jumpsuited goons stepped towards Ron.

" _Hang on. You don't want to experiment on me right now."_

" _And why is that?"_

Ron drew himself up as much as he could, tied to a chair. _"Because at this very moment, this facility is surrounded by two hundred Global Justice agents. Two hundred agents, Mr Geneus. Would you believe it?"_

" _I find that very hard to believe."_

" _Would you believe twenty?"_

" _No."_

" _How about a cheerleader and a naked mole rat?"_

" _You are stalling for time, Mr. Stoppable."_

The two goons grabbed hold of Ron and untied him from the chair. Kim hurried her pace. Ron had been stalling for time, and he needed to do it for just a little bit longer. She had no time to watch the phone anymore, but she could still hear the action.

" _No, please, I'm too pretty to be turned into soup!"_

" _What exactly do you think I'm going to do to you? I just need some genetic material and a piece of your mind."_

If Kim remembered the blueprint correctly, she was just about in position. She didn't have time to be subtle, so she'd need to go for quick and effective, instead. Kim turned on Shego's glow and took a deep breath. She punched through the shaft and plummeted through the hole. She had been exactly where she'd thought. She dropped right in front of Hego, slashing through the thick metal bands encircling his arms as she fell.

"Hey, bro. Miss me?"

"Sis! Just in time."

Kim straightened up, hands on her hips, and looked at stupefied Geneus. "I hope you don't mind me dropping in." She could swear she heard herself groan.

"Shego? How? Why?" Geneus soon recovered his poise. "Never mind. Stop her, you fools."

Kim exploded into action again. She spun around in the direction of the groan, searching for her body. It was right where she'd expected it to be, and she rushed towards it. Behind her, Hego made short work of the rest of his restraints and then ripped off the dome containing Wego. Kim wasted no time in freeing Shego. "I'll apologize later."

"You'd better. Punch out some clones and I might go easy on you."

"You never go easy on me."

"Watch out, there's a Mego-clone out there somewhere; he's the one with his clothes. The real Mego's in the little snow-globe. Maybe he could distract one of them, or something."

Kim thought it was cute how Shego was concerned for her brothers, but just couldn't come out and say it. She located the object in question, but she needed to go through a couple of clones to get there, and she didn't have time to be very gentle. It was a good thing she was a villainess rather than a heroine for the moment. Everybody knew Shego hated clones.

More killer clones poured into the chamber, and a confused melee broke out.

"Give me back my clothes, you cheap clone."

"They look better on me."

The first round had ended in a victory for Geneus, but this time Kim was there, tilting the playing field. Members of Team Go also accounted for more than their weight in clones; an impressive feat for Hego, less so for Mego, and confusingly variable for Wego. Shego was as effective as ever, although she kept forgetting she didn't have her glow. Kim did, though, and it was swinging the battle in their favor.

When it became obvious Team Go and friends would be the victors, Geneus attempted to escape. Kim was having none of that. Rebounding from one of the remaining clones she leaped on top of one of the strange machines and flung bolts of green energy at the fleeing figure, bringing him down. Kim marched him back at blazing fist-point.

There were a lot of clones to be restrained, and Hego's ability to improvise manacles from basically any malleable object came in very handy. For some reason he kept glancing at Shego whenever he was bending a particularly sturdy piece.

Kim shoved Geneus towards Wego. "Tie him to the chair, pl—just try to not let him escape."

"Uh... sure thing, sis. It's really great to see you."

"Don't mention it."

Hego looked up from his work. "I always knew that deep down—"

"No, seriously, don't mention it." Kim didn't enjoy being rude to Hego, of course, but she had to keep up the appearance of keeping up Shego's appearances.

Kim turned towards one of the large cylindrical devices in the middle of the floor. There was a windowed hatch on one side that revealed Ron secured into some kind of a pod. Kim took a step towards it, then remembered herself. She nudged Shego's side and lowered her voice.

"Are you going to get your sidekick out of there?"

"Yeah, of course. I wouldn't just abandon him or anything." Shego stepped up to the machine and tugged at the hatch. "A little hand?"

"If I have to. Move aside, Princess."

Kim didn't want to rip into the thing recklessly, but cutting through the hatch seemed safe enough. Once she disintegrated the lock, it popped open easily enough. Ron was secured in place with metal bands. Kim didn't see an obvious mechanism for releasing them, so she sliced through them as well. There was a metal cap on Ron's head Shego removed before helping dazed Ron out of the contraption. She then picked up the cap, connected to the machine with thick wires, and displayed it to Kim with a meaningful look. It did look eerily familiar.

"Thanks for getting me out of there, KP. I was worried I was going to get turned into goo."

"Why would you think that?"

"You know, for my genetic material?"

"All he needs is a cell sample, you d—Stoppable." Had she really been about to call Ron a doofus? She so needed to get back in her body. "There's no need to turn you into goo."

"You mean video games lied to me?"

"Oh, god. How do y—I put up with him?"

Kim didn't know how to answer that while remaining in character, so she just ignored it and focused on Geneus. "What were you doing with him?"

"Like I was explaining to these... people, before you so rudely interrupted, I was using him as a test subject for my recent project. He wasn't going to be harmed. I'm a scientist, not a murderer. I have standards."

"Then why do you call your goon squad 'Killer Clones'."

"I don't call them that; the sensationalist media calls them that. I just call them my combat clones. They are the finest muscle you'll ever find anywhere."

"Yeah, they were real impressive. With three-to-one edge they almost put up a fight."

"They are merely on the upper edge of human capability, not superhuman." Geneus looked towards Shego. "I must say, your performance was extraordinary, for a supposedly baseline human female. I could do great things with your genes."

Hego, having finished securing the clones, approached them while dusting his hands. "You aren't getting your hands on her. I'm afraid that from now you'll be collecting gene samples up in Stateville Prison." He looked at Kim and Shego with a worried expression. "That had some really unfortunate implications."

"You think?" Mego said, pulling on his uniform.

"Serves him right."

"Sh—Kimmie!"

"What? He's a creep."

"Just because y—I don't like clones doesn't automatically make him a creep. He—"

Kim was interrupted as the machine they had extracted Ron out of gave a loud ping. The side opposite of the pod Ron had been in opened up and steam rolled out.

"You have a smoke machine in there? Talk about dramatics."

"It's vapor; the forced-growth process generates a lot of heat. And uses up a lot of raw materials. Rendering the gene donor for feedstock would admittedly be a convenient shortcut," Geneus said. "Not that I'd ever do something like that, of course."

"What do you use, then?" Ron said.

"Pork, mostly."

Amidst the obscuring steam, a slender figure stepped out of the pod and took a couple of uncertain steps. It did look fully grown, though it had only been a few minutes.

"What were you cooking in there, you maniac? A clone of Ron?"

"Yes. With some specific modifications required for my current project."

"Which are?"

"See for yourself."

The figure stepped closer, where it could be seen clearly, and nobody in the room could help but stare. The clone appeared to be, like Ron, in late teens, and there was Ron's blonde hair, brown eyes, and freckled face. Kim wouldn't have expected a newly-grown clone to be clothed, but it was covered in white material that was so thin and clinging it looked like it was shrink-wrapped. It concealed so little that the clone might as well have been naked, and left absolutely no doubt about the fact that the figure was definitely and unmistakably female.

"Uh, KP?"

"Yeah?"

"I would."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Shego watched the clone in disbelief. There was enough resemblance to Kim's sidekick to make it plausible that she was, in fact, cloned from Ron, but there were also some quite distinct differences.

"Damn."

Most obvious of them being that she looked very, very nice. She was young and pretty, and had a feminine, gently curved body, every last detail of which was on display thanks to the thin and clinging plastic costume that covered without concealing. She had long slender legs and modest, perky breasts. Her face, while similar to Ron's, was more delicate. She had sweetly curved lips and warm, brown eyes. Shego idly thought she would have preferred them blue; like Tara's. There was a smile on the lips that was directed at her.

"KP." The girl suddenly lunged forward and wrapped Shego in an embrace. Shego was too surprised to resist, and, to be honest, she probably wouldn't have, anyway. The clone's body felt nice against Kim's.

"Wait, you recognize m—her?"

"Why wouldn't I? We've been friends since Pre-K." The girl extracted herself from Shego and adopted a mockery of a martial arts stance that wasn't any more convincing than Ron's. "Step back, villain."

"So I guess you don't remember some of the more recent events?"

"Like what?" Her eyes grew wide. "Did you rejoin Team Go?"

"No!" Shego said. "She most definitely did not. But we... have a truce for the moment."

Kim turned towards bound Geneus. "How does she remember anything? You can't clone memories, can you?"

"No, of course not. Without special measures a clone would be a blank state, good for nothing but spare parts. To get any use out of them, I have devised procedures to infuse them with a basic personality and a memory set during the accelerated growth process."

Shego glanced at Kim. "So... does she have Ron's brain in that body of hers?"

"Nothing so crude. I have been working on a way to inject memories extracted from the donor to a basic personality matrix of my own creation. That's how I created a Mego clone who remembers enough of Team Go to fool them, yet follows my command."

"So, Ms. Ron here is your puppet? Maybe we should restrain her."

Ron, Mego and Wego stepped forward to volunteer.

"No. The aims for this project are... somewhat different, and a mere puppet would be... unsatisfactory."

"I told you he was a creep."

"I am not a creep. It is a fascinating project. Can you even appreciate the difficulty in embedding memories into a pre-existing personality matrix while keeping it stable, let alone modifying the original memories on the fly to avoid gender dysphoria in the final product? This is my most ambitious project so far! Admittedly, there are still some kinks to work out."

"And all to build yourself a new girlfriend because the old one skipped town. I think you've got some kinks to work out."

"That is not what this is about. This is science. And clearly Her wasn't as perfect as I'd intended."

"So, you really are a girl... uh, what should we call you? Rhonda?"

"Veronica." She looked down at herself. "Can't you tell I'm a girl?"

"Yes. Yes, I can. And so can everyone in this room. Maybe we should find you some real clothes?"

At first Shego had thought that the clone emerged covered because Geneus had some decency, but honestly it seemed more likely that the suit was to suit some fetish of his.

"Yeah, we really don't need all these guys ogling the girl-me." Ron put her arm around Veronica. "Let's get you somewhere quiet and I'll let you borrow my shirt."

Veronica brushed his arm away. "You can look, buddy, but don't touch. That's just awkweird."

"Because you're him?"

"And because he's a he. I don't really like guys."

"That's one of the kinks."

"Orientation is not a kink!"

"You know what I mean. Regardless of how I set up the matrix, the clone seems to follow the preferences of the donor. Too many formative memories, I suspect."

Shego had enough experience with mad scientists to suspect Geneus was probably well out of his depth on an issue as complex as human sexuality, but the mention of formative memories reminded her of Ron confiding in her his attraction to Kim. Veronica stood close to her, but that might just be a protective measure against the men in the room. She did smile at her a lot, however.

Veronica consented to put on Ron's mission shirt. He offered his pants as well, but everybody else agreed that there was already one pantless man too many in the room. Veronica was just about as tall as Ron, but with her narrower shoulders the shirt rested a little lower on her, covering her groin with such a slim margin that she created a compelling distraction whenever she moved.

"I couldn't help but notice that she doesn't have any hair down there." Surely the machine didn't shave her?

"A standard modification. I find body hair abhorrent. A head of hair is tolerable on a woman, but hair has no business below the eyebrows."

"You are a unique sort of person, aren't you, baldy?"

"Yes, I am."

"Your name is certainly fitting. It would take a genius to accomplish what you have with the memory transfer. That doesn't even seem to have that much to do with your specialty."

Shego needed to have words with Kim about how she talked to mad scientists. There was supposed to be more mocking, less flattery. She even fluttered her eyelashes at him. Shego wondered if those disgusted him as well.

"Ah, but a clone without implanted memories is a useless husk. It was something I had to figure out to get the most out of them."

"How does it work?"

At least the approach seemed to be working. Men were so easy.

"It's based on the work of Dr. Langford and some of the more esoteric offerings of HenchCo. Have you ever heard of 'The Attitudinator'?"

"I'm familiar with it."

"I have further developed the techniques to the point where I can locate memories in the subject's brain and selectively encode them into the developing brain of the clone."

"Interesting, very interesting." Kim turned to whisper to Shego. "Get Wade on the line."

"Gladly, but I don't have the—"

The Kimmunicator, sporting a pair of wheels and telescopic manipulator arms, rolled to a stop before them. "I've been listening in the whole time. I think it's time to take a closer look at Geneus's machine." The Kimmunicator raced towards the device, with Wade giving one final pointed look at Kim.

"Well, I guess he's on it."

"What are you doing to my precious prototype?"

"We're taking that perversion of science apart, Geneus." Hego walked up to the group and flexed an oversized arm. "Do you want a hand with that?"

"No! Wade's... going to make sure it's safe, first."

"Fair enough. What we now need to do is to sort out these villains. Normally I'd have contacted Go City's finest by now, but... uh, do you maybe want to clear out before I do that, sis?"

"I still have business here. Can you cart the goons outside for the pickup and keep the cops out of here?"

"Yeah, we... we need to secure his technology before we can, uh, turn the scene over for the police."

"If you say so, Kim." Hego still hovered near them, inhibiting their conversation. "I wanted to thank you for all your help with this business, Kim. And you as well, of course, Shego. It's a—"

"Don't mention it."

"Really don't mention it. She's the hero here, she just loves to help people. I'm sure your esteem is all the thanks she needs."

"Uh, yeah. Tell you what, we'll carry this lot outside and I'll catch up with you afterward."

"Yeah, that sounds great."

Hego walked off and picked up a few of the clones. "Wego, lend some hands, okay?"

"Okay, if you don't want to him to scrap your precious toys, answer some questions."

"Why are you so interested in my work?"

"I work for an evil genius, alright? Maybe I have an interest in this stuff."

"I'd characterize Dr. Drakken more as an unruly simpleton. I'd rather have that towering oaf crush my machines than let them be misused by that bumbling charlatan."

"Don't listen to her, I'm in charge here. I must confess your technology is very impressive." Shego smiled at him and fluttered Kim's eyelashes. It seemed to work; not that his type needed much prodding to talk about their precious toys. "Could you tell me more about it?"

"Would you even understand anything?"

"Hey, my mom is a brain surgeon. Try me. Could you, for example, extract all of somebody's memories, and write them on somebody else's brain?"

"I suppose, that's the most basic way to make a copy of a person. I don't see the point though, without value added."

"Not into a clone, but a real person."

"Hey, that's mean, Shego. I'm a real person."

Shego had somehow forgotten Veronica was still hovering around. Kim would probably say something supportive. "Of course you are real. I'm sure what the meanie there meant was a..." This was harder than Kim made it look. "Someone who already had a personality?"

"I don't see how that could be accomplished. Memories are stored in the very structure of the brain. My technique guides the growth of a developing brain, and it won't work on a fully developed one."

"So you can't use it to, say, switch the brains of two people."

"No, that's ridiculous." Geneus looked thoughtful for a moment. "I could emulate it, by taking, for example, your memories, Ms. Possible, and implanting them into a clone of Shego, while taking her memories and putting them into a clone of you. I'm not sure what that would accomplish, though."

Shego and Kim exchanged an alarmed look. Kim grabbed her and dragged her away from the man for a whispered conversation. Her heart was beating way too hard.

"That's... we did black out. I don't know what exactly happened."

"No. No, it can't be. It was just for a few seconds and there was no cloning machine anywhere. That can't be what we are." Shego could feel the hairs rising on the back of Kim's neck all the same. A clone with another person's memories would have been enough for Dr. Drakken's plan, and he had messed with clones before.

"Are you sure? I mean, we don't know how much time we missed."

"We were in our clothes. Each other's clothes? No, ours."

"Yeah, that's true..."

"Oh! And you have my glow. Like Geneus said, it's not genetic, a clone wouldn't have it. That's definitely my body." An enormous wave of relief swept through Shego. Her original body was right in front of her, not buried in Grand Canyon.

"You're right... probably. That's a relief. That's my real body, then." Kim smiled. "Maybe I should check it for identifying features, just to be sure."

"Maybe later. Though I probably know them better than you by now."

"Maybe."

"Oh, my God!"

Shego whirled towards the sound. "What is it, Veronica?"

"Are you two together?"

"What? Why would you think that?"

"The way you looked at each other just now." Veronica looked at them thoughtfully. "You kinda did always have that Fearless Ferrett—Snake Charmer dynamic going on."

"That's what I've been saying all along, but they just keep denying it."

"Give it a rest, both of you."

"She definitely has do—Ron's memories."

"Of course she does. That's what my machine does."

"Well, kinda," Wade said via the Kimmunicator. "Looking at this setup, I'm not sure it's all transferred very accurately."

"What are you talking about? I already explained that for this project I'm adjusting the memories, but that is not a necessary step for the general process."

"It's not just that, I've examined both of the machines, and I don't think the instruments are precise enough to maintain full fidelity."

"Bah, what would you know, child."

"I know information processing technology, better than you. This device isn't the answer, at least as it currently stands."

"The answer..." Geneus looked at Kim, then at Shego. "You are not yourselves. Your personalities have been switched. That's why you've been behaving out of character, and are so interested in my research."

"What? That's crazy talk."

"Wow, is that true?" Veronica looked at Kim. "So, you are KP? I'm sorry I was rude to you." She wheeled towards Shego. "And you. You took advantage of me. I feel so dirty now."

"Hey, you're the one who hugged me. Also: don't listen to him. He's just guessing."

"I do not guess. I observe and form hypotheses. For supposed enemies you get on too well. The simplest explanation is that you have a common cause for the moment. If you though my research might help with your shared problem, that would explain Shego's uncharacteristic presence. I suppose an alternate explanation would be you two being romantically involved. I note that so far you have failed to deny it."

"Hey, the police are here. Are you done with Geneus?"

"That depends." Kim turned towards the tied up villain. "Hypothetically speaking: if we were in each other's bodies, could you help switch us back?"

"Do you want new clone bodies?"

"Absolutely not."

"Then I can't help you. I really don't see how 'Doctor' Drakken, of all people, could manage to switch your minds around. It really shouldn't be physically possible."

Shego thought making air quotes while tied up was fairly impressive. "You really missed the chance to string us along by promising to help. It could have kept you out of jail for a while."

"I won't compromise the integrity of my research for a petty advantage. I will triumph through my own ingenuity, as always."

"If by 'triumph' you mean 'lose', then I guess so."

"Very well, Hego. Take him away."

Hego picked him up, chair and all, and handed him to a bunch of Wego. "Take him outside. I think Mego would enjoy handing him over to the police."

"You got it."

"So, I guess we are done here? Unless you need me to crush those infernal machines."

"No, that won't be necessary."

"What about this one?" Hego hooked a thumb at Veronica.

"Good question." Shego glanced at Kim, searching for guidance. "I guess she should come with us? She's more of an innocent victim than a villain."

"Geneus really is irresponsible, bringing new people into the world without another thought. That was, what, the third Mego clone he's made?"

"Yeah, I can totally see how you guys have a completely justified, rational distaste for clones."

"Shego here always took it the hardest. I think Mego might actually enjoy there being more of him around, even if he can't stand his company."

Shego gave a pointed look at Kim.

"Who could?" Kim said, after only a slight hesitation.

"He's still family." Hego said with a lopsided grin. "So, I guess this 'sitch' is over and you're headed off?"

"Yeah, our work here is done."

"I was thinking, if you don't have any pressing issues, maybe you could stay for a little longer? We could go grab some dinner."

"Not at your Bueno Nacho, we won't," Ron said.

Hego rubbed the back of his neck. "Actually, I was just inviting Kim."

"Wait, are you asking m—her out?"

"What?" Kim's eyes widened. "Were you flirting with me all this time?"

"Well, you are a very attractive young woman, and I think we have a lot in common, and I just thought—"

"No. No, no, no. This isn't happening." Shego was feeling sick.

"Kimmie, you really are being rude to my brother," Kim said with a warning in her tone.

"No, I'm sorry. I can't handle this. This is sick and wrong."

"Sure you can. You just explain that, while flattered, you aren't interested because... because..."

Shego knew what Kim wanted her to do, but she couldn't comply. This situation needed to be terminated with extreme prejudice. "Sorry, Kimmie, but this calls for drastic measures."

Shego grabbed Kim and kissed her right on the lips.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Kim looked at Shego in her body, then back at her brother. She felt very nervous, seeing how Shego had let the entire litter of kittens out of the bag. Hego looked at them both with a very bewildered expression.

"So... you're Kim."

"Uh, yes."

"And you're my sister?"

Shego glowered at him.

"And this isn't some elaborate joke?"

"Hego, I wouldn't joke about something this big."

"You might, if you were Shego."

Shego interrupted. "No, we aren't doing this dance again. Dr. D's latest brainwave got our brains switched, and we agreed to pretend to be each other so nobody would try to take advantage of the brain switch sitch. Situation. And you aren't going to spill the beans to anyone, either. Clear?"

"Uh, clear. And, uh, are you two actually... together?"

"They totally are."

"I always knew there was something funny between them."

"Guys, you aren't helping."

"Nah, Kimmie, they totally are. Sorry, bro, but Kimmie here isn't into guys. So if you could stop hitting on me I'd really appreciate it. Just for the record, I'm not interested in you, either."

"Gah, of course not, we're family. I didn't... you could have said something."

"Mistakes were made, and we never need to bring it up ever again."

"Now that's something we can agree on."

"You don't have a problem with it, do you? With me being... gay?" Kim realized this was the first time she had called herself that outside of her own head. This wasn't exactly how she had planned to come out. Not that she had really planned it at all.

"No, of course not. Team Go has always flown the rainbow flag. It's just... I really did like you, Kim, so it's a little..." Hego trailed off, then looked at Shego. "This is the third time you've ended up with a girl I liked."

"Maybe one day you'll stop falling for lesbians, and your batting average will improve."

"Maybe." Hego smiled. "Still, if it couldn't be me, I'm happy it's you, sis."

"What, really?"

"Absolutely! A wonderful, heroic young woman like Kim can only be a good influence on you. Why, maybe she'll make an honest woman of you yet. Uh, I mean..."

"Yeah, let's not go there; I like being a bad girl, Kimmie likes me being a bad girl, and we have more pressing concerns, anyway."

Kim decided to ignore Shego's erroneous assertion in favor of focusing on the task at hand. "The chief one being how to get us back into our own bodies. I really hoped Geneus's tech would have been the answer."

"Sorry, Kim, but I wouldn't trust my mind to this thing," Wade said.

"Veronica seems to have turned out okay."

"Thank you, Kim." Veronica smiled gratefully. It was a pretty smile.

"Maybe, but she isn't precisely Ron, is she?"

"I guess not," Kim said thoughtfully while studying the young—very young, at a few minutes of age—woman. "Why do you want to be called Veronica, anyway?"

"Because that's my name, silly."

"But where did it come from? You're a clone of Ron, right?"

"From my memories, duh. I have a very clear recollection of standing in front of a mirror and—"

"And remembering how my parents told me that, had I been a girl, they would have called me Veronica. Nothing stranger than that, hah-hah."

"Okay..." Ron's behavior seemed suspicious, but since it wasn't that important, Kim decided to let the matter drop.

"And anyway, the memories were inserted into her brain as it grew. There's no telling what the process could do to a fully developed brain."

"Probably nothing good," Shego said. "I'm not feeling desperate enough to take that gamble, yet."

"Even though Hego knows you've been doing hero work lately?"

"Only because you've been filling in for villainy."

"Don't remind me. Are you sure you don't want to chance it?"

"Look on the bright side, Kim. There is a fair chance Geneus's technology is related to the machine Dr. Drakken used, which makes this the biggest breakthrough we've had so far. If we study it, we might be able to figure out a way to get you to back to normal."

"That would be nice. You've got it handled, right?"

"Leave it to me. I'll get started on inventorying the pieces here and contact some people to have the stuff moved to Middleton."

"Please and thank you," Kim said as the Kimmunicator rolled off.

"Your communicator can move on its own."

"Wade likes robots."

"And it has a camera. Maybe start taking the battery out when you visit?"

"Wade wouldn't..." Kim started to answer, then trailed off blushing as she realized Veronica was standing right next to them, listening with a curious expression. "That's not important right now. So, Veronica, what are we going to do with you?"

"I might have some suggestions," Veronica said in a tone that was indeed suggestive. Was that Ron or Geneus's personality matrix speaking? Kim supposed Ron did sometimes try to act smooth around ladies, usually to little avail. Veronica was considerably more alluring, though.

"Well, let's hear it." Kim decided to play the straight man, even though she was neither of those things. Neither was Veronica. Kim wondered how she saw her.

"Can't I just go home?"

"You mean to the Ron's folks? I suppose you might like to meet them."

"Oh, right. My parents don't even know I exist. That's a bummer."

"Yeah, you totally need to meet my folks. Our folks? There really should be some sort of guide for dealing with clones."

Kim ignored Ron in favor of focusing on Veronica. "Things must be pretty weird to you."

"Hey, things are often weird for us." Veronica flashed her a smile Kim interpreted as suggestive. "Maybe I can go home with you."

Kim again chose to ignore the possible flirtatious implications. Maybe she was just reading too much to it, anyway, misled by Veronica's provocative attire. "I've been staying at Dr. D's—Drakken's lair. Shego has been staying at my place."

"You really have been playing each other, huh?"

"Also with each other."

"Man, that's so sick and wrong. Why is it kinda hot, though?"

"The plan was for no one to find out, but that's a little shot right now." Kim glared at Shego. "But let's get back to your sitch. You don't even have a legal existence. We'll need to do something about that." A thought occurred to Kim. "Hey, Hego, you've dealt with Geneus before. Have you any experience with handling these things?"

"We usually handed the clones over to the police. I guess the Go City officials might have a procedure for it by now."

"If they don't, I do know some people. I'm sure we can get that sorted out, at least." Kim turned back to Veronica, who was looking at her with her brown eyes. They were rather pretty. "You really do think about the Stoppables as your family, don't you? Do you see Ron as your brother?"

"Not really, I was the only child. Or, at least, that's how I remember it. Now that I think about it, there were some things that seemed strange, like there was another person living at the house who I never met. It was almost like growing up with a ghost." Veronica frowned. "Although I guess I was the ghost. I was never even there. None of that happened."

Kim tried to picture how it felt, having memories that belonged to someone else; believing you'd lived a life that had never happened. Geneus was to blame for putting Veronica in this situation, but, having met her, Kim couldn't really bring herself to wish she hadn't been created at all. She resolved to help her to the best of her ability. "Do you remember us being friends?"

"Yes." Veronica smiled, blushing a little. "We've been best friends forever. In my mind, at least."

"Well, we can be friends from now on."

Veronica giggled. It was a pleasant sound. "I didn't even exist ten minutes ago, and you are trapped in the body of your worst enemy. I'm sure we'll get along just fine. Although I guess she's not really an enemy, if you're dating her. When did that happen?"

"Can we talk about it later? There's been way too many revelations for one day."

"I'll hold you to it."

The Kimmunicator made a return. "Hey, Kim, I may have found something promising."

"Talk to me, Wade." Kim was instantly back in mission mode.

"I found some of Geneus's prototypes in another room. There's one device that seems to be some sort of memory visualization tool. It might be a proof of concept, or maybe something he was using for debugging the memory transfer device."

"Memory visualization?" Shego said. "What's that even supposed to be?"

"Just what it sounds like. It reads your brain and creates a visualization of the memories on a screen."

"Is that even possible?"

"Yeah, kinda. Basically, you show people pictures and see what parts of their brains activate. Once you've built a, vocabulary, I suppose, you can do it in reverse: read brain activity and then map that onto a corresponding picture. I've seen some footage of that, from legitimate researchers. It's pretty surreal, but you can sort of get a view into somebody's thoughts."

"Is this good news?"

"Maybe. We could try charting your memories, and maybe get a sense of what Dr. Drakken's machine did from that angle."

"I'm not really that keen on letting people into my head, but if it helps to put us back to where we belong, I'll do it. Let's get started."

"Hold up, the tools here aren't heavy duty enough for that. I'll get the brain trust together, and hopefully we can build something that does the job, based on these devices."

"Aww, I wanted to see what's in KP's brain," Veronica said.

"It might have been kinda cool, as long as you didn't poke anywhere too embarrassing."

"The embarrassing memories are the best, Princess. How many of them do I feature in?"

"Ooh, all your secrets revealed. Now I definitely want to have a look." Veronica looked wistful. "I won't be in your memories, even though I share so many of them."

"It's cool, my memories are your memories." Ron scratched his head. "Or do I mean memories of me are memories of you? Either way, maybe we can get to the bottom of this Shego thing."

"Well, I suppose we could take a moment to see just how the machine works," Wade said. "We have to start from somewhere, right?"

* * *

Kim sat in a chair, an uncomfortably bulky metal cap on Shego's head. In front of her was the screen on which visualizations of her memories were supposed to appear, once Wade had the machine configured. Shego, Ron, and Veronica were crowded around her, and Hego was tagging along, too.

"Okay, Kim, everything should be ready."

The screen lit up with a signal. On the left side was an image of a featureless mannequin in a squatting position. The rest of the screen was a jumble of changing shapes and colors, like randomly cut up photographs being shuffled on a table.

"I'm pretty sure I'm not thinking about mannequins, Wade."

"I think that's a body reference. Try thinking about raising an arm."

Kim raised her left arm, and the articulated mannequin on the screen followed the motion. Kim visualized standing up, and the mannequin stood up. "That's pretty creepy." The rest of the screen remained in flux. Occasionally Kim thought she almost glimpsed something recognizable there, but then it dissolved back into random faces and objects.

"That's pretty basic, impulses for motor control are relatively easy to read. Functional magnetic resonance imaging can see the brain activity, by measuring the oxygen levels in the blood vessels that feed the brain cells. The really cool thing about this device is that it can actually non-destructively scan the structure of the brain and isolate individual memories stored in long term memory—at least according to Geneus's documentation."

"Non-destructive is good. My memories seem a little chaotic, though."

"It's still calibrating. I'm going to try one of the presets here, for isolating formative childhood memories. Tell me if you recognize something on the screen."

The jumble on the screen kept changing, but something was perceptibly different. Kim could distinguish several shapes, defined by the consistent way they moved around the screen. "Hey, there's people there. I don't recognize them, though."

"The image library wouldn't have pictures of your social circle, so it's trying to find closest matches from the portraits it has."

"There's four people here, looks like children."

"That's encouraging. It was supposed to be an important childhood memory."

"Is that a tree? Why's there a doghouse in it."

"It's a tree house, KP. Like the one in my backyard."

"You can make sense of that?"

"It's plain as day. There's a backyard, a tree house, and four kids."

"Who are they? I don't think there were ever anyone else around when I visited your tree house."

"What's that?" Veronica said. "In the sky."

"Sun? No, it's moving." The image kept changing as the algorithm tried to find a match for the memory, from a wheel to an Easter egg to a ball of fire. "What is that?"

"A comet."

Kim glanced at Shego who was staring at the screen. Her shocked face was white as a sheet. Kim felt chills along the back of her neck. "This isn't my memory at all..."

"No, it isn't." Shego looked straight at Kim, her expression serious. "It's mine."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Shego paced back and forth behind the chair in which her body was sitting, thinking furiously. Where was that thinking happening? In her head or Kim's? She didn't even know anymore, and it was making her nervous.

"How can I have Shego's memories in my head?"

"That's the thing, Kimmie. That's my head. With, apparently, my memories still in there." Yet here she was, in Kim's body. This was, as Kim would say, big, and she was getting a little freaked out.

"It makes sense. We never could figure out how the machine could possibly have switched your brains around. The answer is that it didn't. That's Shego's body; that's Shego's brain inside there, with Shego's memories. You are Shego."

"I'm right here, Nerdlinger."

"That's right! She's Shego. I'm Kimberly Ann Possible. That's the life I remember, not Shego's."

"Uh, don't take this the wrong way, but... are you really absolutely sure that you are in fact Kim?"

"Wade, are you seriously suggesting that I don't know who I am? That's not the sort of thing you get wrong."

"I don't want to doubt you, but looking from the outside, all the evidence points to you being Shego. You have Shego's brain. The brain is what produces the mind. It's impossible for you to have Shego's brain and Kim's mind."

Shego decided to cut in. "Obviously it isn't, because that's just what's happening. I don't have any of Kimmie's memories, and all of my own—including the one we just saw yanked from Kimmie's brain. My brain. Somehow we've switched minds without switching brains."

"That's it!" Kim removed the cap and rose from the chair. "That's what the book you found in Dr. Drakken's lair was about, right? Out-of-body experiences and astral projection. Somehow our minds... souls, or whatever, are in the wrong bodies."

"That stuff isn't real, Kim. Astral projection doesn't exist."

"What? Astral projection is totally real, my sensei can do it." Veronica looked at Ron. "Oh, sorry, our sensei. Wait, is he still my sensei if I learned stuff from him, but I've never even met him?"

"Uh, Veronica, ixnay on the enseisay."

"Shame on you, Ron; this isn't the time to keep secrets. It should be your honor to help your friends."

"But I promised sensei..."

"What are you babbling about? _You_ have a sensei?"

"Look, it's not something I can talk about," Ron said, then glanced at Veronica, who was glaring at him. "But I might maybe know somebody who maybe knows about astral projection. Maybe."

"Which is totally real," Veronica said.

"I could at least contact him and ask if he's willing to help, maybe."

Kim glanced at Shego, who shrugged. "Couldn't hurt."

"Probably won't help, either. I'll get this equipment moved, get Doctors Possible and the rest of the group together, and we'll figure something out. I would bet money we'll find a way to get you back to normal before some mystical sensei does."

"Please and thank you. At least we have something to go on, for once." Kim looked around. "I guess we're done here. Lets head back to Middleton, and get Veronica's situation sorted out."

"Not so fast, Kimmie. You're AWOL, and you need to get back to your employer."

"What about Veronica? I can't just leave her hanging."

Veronica smiled at Kim. "Thanks, Kim. You're so sweet."

"We can take care of that. Ner—Wade can make some calls while we travel, and Ron can take her to meet her kinda sorta parents." Shego looked away, embarrassed, when Kim smiled at her, then huffed in irritation. "That's what you'd do, right? I'm just keeping to our arrangement. So you'd better hold up your end of it."

Kim was still smiling. "Fine, I'll head back to the lair. Call me as soon as there are developments, on any front."

"I will. Now, amscray."

* * *

On the trip back Shego had plenty of time to learn just how much like Ron Veronica was, as the two compared memories and generally goofed around in Kim's car. There were subtle differences and gaps in Veronica's memories. Some of it was probably by design, like Veronica remembering always being a girl, but some might indicate that Wade was right about the equipment not quite being up to the task of copying somebody's memories over. There were differences between the two, too. How much of that resulted from Geneus's initial "personality matrix" and how much from the differences in memories was anybody's guess.

Veronica kept stealing glances at her when she though she wasn't looking. Shego wondered if it was simple curiosity about Kim's friendly foe inhabiting her flesh, or if Veronica just liked looking at Kim, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to open that can of worms. It did occur to her that Veronica, as a version of Kim's childhood friend that matched her preference, might actually become something of a romantic rival. She was easy on the eyes, too.

"We should probably stop somewhere to get you some clothes, before you are arrested for indecency."

"I remember going pantless all the time. Though I guess it was really Ron."

"Hey, it's not like I do it on purpose."

"But I guess something besides Ron's shirt would be nice."

"Does that wrap come off?"

"I suppose, but I don't think it'll go back on." Veronica pinched the material on her thigh. There was some give, but it didn't seem too resilient.

"Well, let me know if you need any help in peeling it off."

"I'll keep that in mind." Veronica smiled coquettishly. "So, how did you and Kim get involved?"

"Dr. D sent me to steal a robot tick. Don't you remember?"

"You know what I mean. How did you get involved romantically?"

"You'll have to ask Kimmie. I don't kiss and tell."

"But KP does?"

"At least to her girlfriends." Which was fine. Girls liked to gossip, and at least Monique seemed to have her back.

Veronica's eyes widened. "She has more than one?"

Shego had spent enough time as Kim to be fairly sure she wasn't seeing anybody else on the side, but she didn't appear to be short on prospects. She should talk about that with Kim some day. There were arrangements she would be comfortable with. "Friends that are girls. Please don't be as dumb as the guy in the back seat."

"Hey!"

"Ron's not dumb."

"Thank you."

"He's just differently smart."

"Uh-huh." Insulting Ron probably wasn't going to get her anything but grief from Kim.

"So Monique knew you were together? Man, I always get left out of the loop."

"Kimmie needed someone to confide in. By the way, me and Kimmie being... together needs to stay a secret. If it got out it wouldn't be good to either of our reputations. Even my boneheaded brother understood that."

"You can rely on us. I can keep a secret."

"Speaking of which, what's this sensei business?"

"I can't talk about it."

"What, you got training from some secret mystical martial arts school?"

"How did you—nope, you can't trick me into talking about Yamanouchi."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Never mind then." Prying secrets from Ron was too easy to even be fun, but Shego filed the name away for possible future snooping.

It also seemed it wasn't advisable to place much trust in Ron's ability to keep her illicit affair a secret. She should probably start thinking about strategies to deal with the fallout. She hoped she was back in her own body before the secret got out, because a lot of those strategies would likely involve liberal application of her glow.

* * *

Once Shego dropped Ron and Veronica off at the Stoppable residence she judged that she'd done her part, and drove to Kim's house. Dr. Possible welcomed her home.

"So, how was your day? I trust you stopped the bad guys?"

"Yep, all in a day's work, for a selfless hero like me."

"I'm glad to see you are embracing your role."

"Just like Kimmie is embracing hers. Speaking of embracing..."

"Yes?"

"Eh, never mind." If Dr. Possible hadn't been updated on their relationship status, Shego decided there was no reason to inform her just yet. "I could use a late dinner."

"I guess you've earned it today. Let me see what we can do with leftovers."

"I appreciate it." She might as well get started on buttering up the mother of her girlfriend. Just in case. "How was brainsurgering?"

"Oh, honey, I didn't think you cared." Dr. Possible entered the kitchen and Shego followed. "Work was routine, but I did hear from Wade. He said there have been some exciting developments."

"Yeah, we uncovered some gear that might be similar to Dr. D's brain switch machine, and also a complication."

"Shego's memory in Shego's body."

"My memory in my body. Well, they say possession is nine tenths of the law, so I suppose it's mostly Kimmie's body right now." She'd had access rights for a while, already.

"Somehow I doubt you have quite given up your claim on it." Shego expected another hint at Dr. Possible knowing of their relationship, but the woman suddenly got serious and directed a piercing gaze at her. "Once again: are you truly Shego, and not my daughter?"

"Honestly, why would we both go to all this trouble to make something like this up? Yes, it's really me. Your little Kimmie isn't home right now."

"But she should. If her memories are still there," Dr. Possible said as she poked Shego's—Kim's—skull, "then that's where she should be."

"We didn't actually check if her memories are there, but I expect they are. I can't access them, though. When I try to recall things, it's just my life I remember."

"And that doesn't make any sense."

"I got superpowers from a glowing rock when I was a teenager. My life stopped making sense a long time ago. I just hope we can go back to the way we were."

"And if you can't? Are you going to keep this charade up indefinitely?"

"Uh-uh, Dr. P, that's defeatist talk. We have two potential paths to explore, we can get back to worst case scenarios if neither of them works."

"I just..." Dr. Possible sighed. "I guess that's fair enough. Let me heat up your dinner." She opened the fridge and extracted a plastic container. "Wait; two?"

"Well, one of them depends on Ron and his new clone sister being on the ball, so I might be overselling it."

"I'll need to meet this Veronica one day, she sounded fascinating. So, you call him Ron now?"

"I try to call him as little as possible, but that is his name, isn't it?" Shego had hoped for a bigger reaction, but it made sense Wade had briefed Dr. Possible on the clone.

"You're right, of course. Is this enough?"

"I think you might have a better handle on Kimmie's appetite, but it looks fine."

"Oh, I think you know much more about her appetites than you let on."

The really unfair thing about Dr. Possible's innuendo was that Shego didn't think she could even acknowledge it without having to address her relationship with Kim, and the longer she could postpone that, the better. "Just put it in the microwave, already, please and tha—why does she always say that, anyway?"

"We raised her to be polite."

"Surely the idea is to use them in appropriate context, not as one phrase." Was Kim just being sarcastic all the time?

"Well, you know kids and their catchphrases. And don't call me 'Shirley'."

"If by 'kids' you mean emotionally stunted wannabe evil geniuses nearing middle age, I do."

"Can you get the knife and the fork for yourself?"

"Sure." Shego wondered if Dr. Possible would consider knowing her way around the Possible kitchen as a sign of her having Kim's memories, or not. Kim was talented in many areas, but kitchen wasn't one of them. Bedroom, now...

Once the food was warm, Dr. Possible put a plate in front of Shego. "I'll... I'll just let you eat in peace. I should go to bed soon." She looked like she wanted to say something else, but didn't.

"Hey, Dr. P..."

Dr. Possible paused in the doorway. "Yes?"

"It's going to be alright. Whatever happened, we'll find a way to reverse it. Your daughter's going to be fine."

"You can't know that, but I appreciate the sentiment." Dr. Possible tilted her head. "It's getting a little hard to think of you as my daughter's enemy."

"I know the feeling."

"You're not going to hurt her, are you?"

Shego was pretty sure she knew how that question was intended to be read. "I'm not saying I'll never give her bruises." She hoped Dr. Possible knew how to read her answer, too. Some things she just wasn't ready to say out loud, yet.

"Good night, Shego."

"Good night, Dr. P."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Kim Possible's return to the increasingly familiar-feeling time-share lair didn't go unnoticed, as Greg was actually keeping watch like he was supposed to. A brief smiled graced Shego's lips before Kim remembered to school her expression.

"Is there any food in the kitchen?"

"Yes, Ma'am, but..."

"But?"

"It was Trevor's turn to cook dinner."

"Ah. Are there any sandwiches?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Excellent. Keep up the good work."

Greg's eyes flew wide. "I will, Ma'am."

As Kim continued towards kitchen she supposed she had been a little out of character for Shego, but surely improvement merited some positive reinforcement, and refraining from threatening physical harm didn't quite seem to suffice. The kitchen was clean, too. At least Trevor knew how to clean after himself, even if his culinary skills left a lot to be desired. Kim really would have liked to put Tom permanently in charge of food, but the henchmen seemed wedded to their rotation system, and she didn't want to meddle in case it was a union thing. It was just unfortunate that Tom wasn't any good at card games. Perhaps she could give him some pointers?

Kim made and ate two sandwiches, then wandered into the central chamber. The lights were low. The center of the room was dominated by a silhouette of a large construct covered by a tarp, and there was a clutter of parts and tools scattered on the floor and on the workbenches. It seemed like Dr. Drakken had finally began to work on his next scheme. Kim lifted an edge of the tarp to take a look, but wasn't sure what she was looking at. It seemed to be a base for something big. At least it didn't look like a robot girl.

She walked into the corridor leading to the rooms. There were no light showing under Dr. Drakken's door. The henchmen seemed to still be up and, judging by the sounds, playing some game. At least they hadn't made a mess of the common areas, this time. Maybe they were learning. The mess in the central hall was probably all Dr. Drakken's fault.

Kim briefly entered Shego's room to grab her bathroom kit. She really needed a shower. With all the henchmen in the lair she unfortunately didn't have the luxury of having a prolonged or fun shower. Maybe she should have gone to Shego's place for the night? No, Shego had been right: she had been absent without explanation, and had needed to return as soon as possible. She owed it to Shego to safeguard her position as Dr. Drakken's right hand woman.

When Kim returned to Shego's room it wasn't that late yet, and she didn't really feel sleepy. Which was fortunate, as she realized she had an essay to write. It hadn't been much more than a week, and school already seemed like a distant thing. She knew she shouldn't get too used to being Shego. With any luck, she'd be back in her own body soon. Kim finished her essay, browsed the villain forums for a while, and then went to bed.

* * *

When Kim walked into the central chamber the following morning she was surprised to find Dr. Drakken already there and busy at work. He hadn't struck her as an early riser before. He was occupied with the construction that was taking on a familiar shape.

"Is that a giant ray-gun?"

"Ah, Shego, there you are." Dr. Drakken didn't turn around, but continued his tinkering while he spoke. "You missed my breakthrough yesterday. Don't expect me to repeat my speech. It was quite brilliant, even if I do say so myself. The henchmen were positively dumbstruck."

"I'm sure they were, Doc. So sorry I missed it all."

"No matter, there's still plenty of work left." Dr. Drakken finally turned around to look at her. There was a manic grin on his face and a gleam in his eyes. He looked unhinged and actually rather dangerous. "It feels good to be back in the saddle, Shegol. I feel re-energized, revitalized. Yes! This time, the world will bow down before my superior intellect."

"Uh, sure, Dr. D. Only, didn't we decide not to do a huge death-ray?"

"Aha! But this isn't just any old giant death-ray. No, Shego, this is a giant freezing laser."

"A freezing... laser."

"If you're going to repeat everything I say, Shego, this is going to take all day. Yes, a freezing laser, and with it I will bring the world to its knees."

"Didn't you already try to freeze the world once?" She hoped she would be able to shoot down this plan before Ron heard of it.

"Freeze the world? Why would I want to freeze the world? What good is a frozen world to anyone? No, once the freezing laser is ready, I will be able to freeze anything I choose, and the governments of the world better give me what I demand, or they will find themselves the next target for my giant freezing laser."

"Can you stop saying 'freezing laser' already?"

"Can you stop being such a wet blanket?"

"Have you been watching cartoons?"

"As a matter of fact I have, Shego. I had to do something with my time... I mean, I needed to reignite my creative spark somehow. And now I'm firing on all cylinders!"

"Great. I'm happy for you. Go, Dr. D."

"Mh. Just watch the master at work. No, hang on, you don't have the time to watch me." Dr. D extracted a list from his pocket. "Now that you're finally here, there's something I need you to acquire. The freezing laser needs some specialized components that can't be found in your local hardware store."

Kim received the list and looked at it. "Turnips, bread... you're right, Dr. D, they don't have those at a hardware store."

Dr. Drakken yanked the list from her hand. "Don't mock me, Shego, I'm not in the mood for your lip. Hmm, hang on, is this the grocery list?"

Dr. Drakken leaped to the nearest table and shifted through the mess. "Aha! Here it is. I need the items on this list. Take some henchmen with you, there's going to be a lot to carry. In fact, hire some more henchmen before you go. We are back in business!"

* * *

Kim studied the list. Some of the things she recognized, and she had a notion of where she might find them, but other items were more mysterious. Was Shego really expected to go out with such scant instructions? Kim supposed she was a professional thief. She could always hit up Wade, but Shego didn't have that recourse, and would have to figure it out herself. Well, if she could do it, Kim could do it, too. She headed for Shego's room and her laptop. It was time to do some research. And hire more henchmen.

Identifying the items was simple enough, finding places to steal them from was a little trickier. The scuttlebutt on the villain forums proved useful in that regard. After an hour of studying research facilities, retailers, and distributors Kim had a plan of action that involved hitting three locations, and a provisional plan for defeating their security systems as needed. She leaned back from the table with a satisfied sigh. It was only at that moment that she realized that she was planning to commit a series of crimes.

It was what Shego did, of course; as Dr. Drakken's right hand woman she was stuck managing his villainous affairs, but first and foremost she was a thief. She was a famous, talented, and industrious thief, whose reputation she had agreed to uphold.

Shego had taken her place in the school, and had helped stop a villain even though it meant teaming up with her brothers, while Kim hadn't actually done much of anything as Shego. Sure, much of her day-to-day activities at the lair could be seen as unlawful, and she had broken into Hench's facilities, but it was easy enough to picture Shego's rebuttal to such feeble arguments.

She would have no cause to complain about Kim keeping her part of the bargain if she not only broke in somewhere, but actually stole some valuable equipment. She could picture the look on her face when Shego heard about it, and it put a smile on her lips. Could she actually do that? If their bodies hadn't been switched, Shego would do it without hesitation. In the great scheme of things balance would be maintained. It wasn't like she'd be going on a crime spree of her own volition. She'd merely be committing the crimes Shego would do anyway, following the directions of Dr. Drakken.

She could set out to do the burglary, and let Shego know so she could foil it as her. She might not be happy about it. She might even refuse to do so, just to be difficult. If she committed on going to do Dr. Drakken's bidding, she couldn't count on Shego being there to stop her before she even got started. She had broken the law in little ways before, but this would be big. She felt she owed Shego for her services as Kim, and she would be lying if she didn't find the thought of really stepping into Shego's catsuit a little exciting. But it would be bad.

Maybe she could compromise? She hadn't felt very guilty for breaking into Jack Hench's facilities, since he was a sleazy criminal in the first place. Stealing from him wouldn't be too bad, since his wares were going to end up in the hands of criminals, anyway. Were there other villains who might have the items Dr. Drakken sought? Professor Dementor was a possibility, and Dr. Drakken would probably enjoy it if his rival got humbled in the process.

The problem was that Dr. Drakken hadn't instructed her to go after other villains. Though he wasn't above such things, it did break professional courtesy, and perhaps he wanted to avoid that kind of provocation when embarking on a new plan. How to persuade him? It'd probably be easiest if Dr. Drakken believed it was his own idea. Kim dove into the forums again. It was time to come up with a new plan.

* * *

"Hey, Dr. D, how am I supposed to get all this stuff here? Do we have any transportation?"

"Shego? Why are you still here?"

"Trans-por-ta-tion, Dr. D, do we have any?"

"Hmm, there are the hover cars, but they don't have very large trunks, not to mention they aren't henchman proof. Can't you steal a truck or something?"

"I can, but you do realize we are in the middle of nowhere, don't you? You can't get the stuff you want just anywhere. How soon do you expect to get it? Is a week alright?"

"Week? I can't wait a week. I'm in the zone, Shego. We need something faster... maybe my cousin could—"

"Yeah, no."

"Aha! I have it, Shego. Professor Dementor's helicopter drones!"

"The what now?" Presumably the ones he had quite recently explained at length and in all caps in a thread Dr. Drakken had also participated in, and which luckily were based in the USA for the moment.

"That loud-mouthed German midget was just bragging about creating a fleet of robotic helicopters for use in some supposedly ingenious kidnapping ploy. I want you to steal them. That will get us some speedy transportation, and give the fraud a black eye in the process. It's a win-win. Really, Shego, you could try to think of these things yourself once in a while."

"How could I possibly compare to your brilliance, Dr. D?"

"Too true, too true." Dr. Drakken turned back to his work and waved one hand over his shoulder. "Off you go. You're crowding my genius."

Since his back was turned, Dr. Drakken missed the smile on Shego's lips as Kim left to do his bidding.

* * *

When the call came, Kim was too occupied to pick it up straight away. The phone kept vibrating in the hidden pocket, so she shifted to a more secure grip on the skid and fished it out. "Hey, Shego. Can this wait? I'm a little busy right now."

"What's that noise?"

"Never mind that. What did you want?"

"I thought you'd want to know that Ro—your useless sidekick said his sensei would meet us today after school."

"Already? Where?"

"At his place, I think."

"The sensei's? Isn't he in Japan?"

"At the Stoppables'. Can you please give it a rest, I'm getting tired of playing the straight man."

Kim did some math in her head. "Can we make it five? I have a couple of errands to run for your boss, but I should make it there by then."

"I'll ask. I'd hate to keep you from my work."

"Thanks. Love you."

Shego mumbled something indistinct in response that might have been words of reciprocation.

Kim stowed away the phone and went back to work. She might not be the hacker Wade was, but she wasn't exactly a neophyte when it came to computers. With the plans she stole from Professor Dementor's base and local access she was confident she could figure out how to take control of the drone helicopters. She just needed to get into the cockpit. Preferably before the machines reached the transport ship.

After all the craziness she had been through in the past few days, this sitch was comfortably familiar, really.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay, folks; I hit a little block.

* * *

 **Chapter 21**

Shego really wasn't sure why she was driving Ron to school. Probably because that's what Kim would have done. She did have a role to play, after all, even if it was a chore at times.

"What's she doing here?" Shego nodded her head towards Veronica in the back seat. "I'm pretty sure she doesn't go to school here."

"You don't want her to miss out on all the fun, do you?"

"School isn't fun. Wait, you know that. Were you being sarcastic?"

"I'm not talking about classes. I'm talking about hanging with the ladies. Ron-Man is back on the market, after all."

"Yeah, there are a lot of hotties at this school. Like Amelia. Rrowr."

"No, she graduated already."

"Aww, man..."

"Also, you aren't supposed to know any of their names," Shego pointed out. "You don't want to come across as a stalker by letting slip information you shouldn't have. Take it from somebody who—I mean, it's just common sense."

"Good point. I'm Ron's cousin, by the way."

"That's not how you spell 'clone'."

"No, it's my cover."

"You 'ave no cov—wait, what am I doing?"

"Driving us to school."

"So you can introduce your cousin to the ladies. Are you sure you want her around for competition?"

"Oh, come on, they can't all be into girls."

"Let's just say you don't necessarily want to give them the option."

"It's a free country, let's just see which one of us they prefer."

"It's going to be me, you'll see."

Shego expected the answer to be 'neither'. Veronica was easy enough on the eye, but she had enough Ron in her to get in her way. Then again, teen girls had basically no sense, and there was no accounting for taste. Even in her short time here she had seen a couple of girls try to approach Ron. He had brushed them off, apparently oblivious to their interest—teen boys had even less sense.

After Shego parked the car, the three of them walked in together. The first stop was Kim's locker, as usual. As happened surprisingly often, Bonnie was hanging out nearby with a couple of her minions. Maybe her locker was there, Shego wasn't really sure.

"Who's this? Another charity case? I don't recognize her."

"Don't worry, Princess, I have enough charity for both of you. I'm a giver." Shego wasn't quite sure herself what that even meant, but it seemed to annoy Bonnie just fine.

"Will you stop calling me that." The way she stomped her little foot was pretty cute.

"Fine, Cupcake. I'm charitable like that."

"She's my cousin, Bon-Bon. I'm just showing her around in case she starts school here."

"Oh, great, the losers are multiplying."

"Why are you so mean? You don't even know me."

"Yeah, Bon-Bon, that was uncalled for," Shego said. "You're not very good at getting along with people, are you? No wonder the squad unanimously decided to drop your routine."

"Bite me."

"If you insist." The predatory grin Shego gave her was maybe not quite Kim-like, but she felt it was very much called for.

"You're a freak, Kim." Bonnie looked a little taken back and left without a further comment. She still looked good walking away.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Shego called after her.

Monique walked up to the group. "You do have a way of handling Bonnie, but have you considered the situation you're putting, uh, yourself in?"

"I can handle it. I can do anything."

"I'm sure." Monique turned to Veronica. "Hi, I don't think we've met. I'm Monique."

"I know. I'm very glad to meet you."

Veronica took Monique's hand and leaned down with a flourish to bring it to her lips, but lost her balance in the process. She tried to arrest her fall by grabbing onto Ron, but only succeeded in bringing down his pants with her.

"Oh, man!"

"A relation of yours, Ron?"

"This is Veronica," Ron said as he pulled his pants back on. "She's my, uh, cousin."

"She's Ron's sex-swapped clone," Shego said, knowing there wasn't anyone in the hearing range. "Didn't anybody remember to tell you?"

Monique eyed Veronica who tried to pretend she hadn't just fallen over. "No, I guess I'm out of the loop lately."

"Well, now you know. If it makes you feel better, Veronica probably needs a wardrobe."

Monique's eyes lit up. "It does, actually." Then she sobered. "If she's also inherited his fashion sense, it might be quite the task."

"I'll happily place myself into your hands, pretty lady."

"Why is she hitting on me?"

"Because she has more taste than sense?"

"Hey!"

Monique looked at Shego skeptically. "I'm not sure if I should feel flattered, or not."

"Don't worry your pretty little head with it. I think it's time to head for class, anyway." Shego effected a quick getaway.

* * *

Shego supposed she was getting acclimatised to high school again, as the morning classes didn't seem quite as unbearable as they had a week before. It possibly helped that it was only Tuesday. Either way, she had made it halfway through the school day unscathed. She headed for the cafeteria to meet the rest of the gang.

"So did you ever call your sensei?" Shego asked as she unpacked the lunch she'd sensibly brought with her.

"Oh! Yeah, I did. Sensei said he'd meet you both to see if he could help you."

"Why didn't you mention that sooner?"

"I forgot?"

"How could you forget something that important?"

"I've had a lot of things on my mind lately, okay?"

Shego supposed that between finding out her crush was a lesbian and dating an enemy, and gaining an opposite sex clone of himself, he might have a point. "I guess you aren't used to entertaining very many thoughts at a time."

"Hey!"

"What?"

"You just made fun of me."

"Did I?"

"Yeah."

"Or... did I?"

"You know you did."

"But do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Exactly."

Monique looked up from her meal. "You two are a lot alike."

"Hey!" Shego and Ron said in one voice.

"I rest my case."

Veronica had followed the exchange leaning on her elbows and resting her head in her hands. "I guess that means that if KP wasn't gay she might have fallen for you instead, Ron." Veronica's face brightened with a smile. "Maybe that means I have a shot."

"She sure is popular."

Monique's tone was strangely flat. Shego wondered if she was jealous, and if so, who she was jealous of. In any case it was clear Kim had a lot of options if she ever got tired of her. Well, she'd just have to make sure to keep Kim happy enough so that didn't happen. It wasn't like she'd planned on doing anything else, anyway.

* * *

Shego was at Kim's locker at the end of the day when Tara caught up with her, already in her cheerleader uniform.

"You're taking over the practice today, right, Kim?"

"I'm really sorry, Tara, but I can't. Something really big is up." Shego had been under the impression they had practice only every other day. Did they have extra sessions for some reason?

"Yeah: the regionals. They're at the end of the week, Kim. We don't have that much time left."

"I know." That was technically true; she did know, now. "You just need to do hold the fort a little longer."

"We really need you, Kim."

"I believe in you, Tara. You've done such a good job so far."

"I've done what I can, but it's not the same." Tare looked up into her eyes. "You're amazing, Kim. None of us can take your place, no matter what Bonnie says. I... we all miss you."

The look in Tara's eyes made Shego unwilling to disappoint her. She was considering how to answer her when she was interrupted by the arrival of Ron and Veronica.

"Oh, hi, Tara."

"Hi. Do I know you?"

"We haven't met, but I've heard a lot about the prettiest cheerleader, and I knew you couldn't be anyone else."

"Oh... thank you." Tara blushed prettily. Maybe she wasn't used to being complimented by girls.

"I'm Veronica. I'm Ron's cousin and I've just moved here."

"Oh. Will you be attending Middleton High?"

"I sure hope so, I'd love to see more of you."

"Uh..."

"Yeah, I think we need to get going," Shego said. "You know how it is, sitches be crazy."

"Kim..."

"Next time, Tara. I promise."

Shego felt a little guilty as she herded Ron and Veronica towards the parking lot. If this chance fell through, maybe she really needed to try to have Kim talk her through the cheer practice through an earpiece. She was considering the logistics involved when Monique caught up with them.

"Hey, wait up. I thought we agreed to meet up by the lockers."

"Uh, sorry, Monique, I just thought the female population of the school could use a break from these two." She ignored the chorused protestations.

"I can see that. What's the plan?"

"I called Kim earlier, and she said she'd make it here by five. We have plenty of time to drop you and Veronica at the mall, and maybe grab a bite."

"Ooh. I call Bueno Nacho."

"But of course you do."

"It'd be more fun to eat something together at the mall," Veronica said.

"Yes," Shego said as she got in the car. "That."

"You people just don't appreciate the awesomeness that is Bueno Nacho." Ron seated himself on the back seat and turned towards Veronica. "Even you. Aren't you supposed to be my clone?"

"I'm not an exact copy, you know."

"Vive la différence," Shego said as she started up the car.

"It's a shame you two can't stay. The girl needs a lot of clothes, and it would have been handy to have you two to carry them."

"Sorry to disappoint, but I've a prior engagement." Shego glanced at Monique. "Do you often make Kimmie carry your shopping bags?"

Monique turned to look out the window. "Well, you know, she is stronger than me."

"Uh-huh."

* * *

Once Shego had chauffeured Monique and Veronica to the local teen mecca and enjoyed a meal not dripping with grease, the clock was nearing five, and Shego and Ron drove to his house.

"Uh, maybe the backyard will do? That way I don't have to explain to my parents why I'm sneaking a criminal into my room."

"Works for me; that way I don't need to see your room."

"It's a perfectly good room. If maybe a little messy."

"I'm sure."

"This is the backyard," Ron said, like it had needed pointing out. "That's the tree house. You want to go in?"

"No thanks, I have bad experiences with them."

"Kim's been there lots of times."

"You were hoping she'd kiss you, weren't you?"

"I didn't know she was into girls."

"That's on you; it was pretty obvious."

"Maybe to... what's that noise?"

"Sounds like a helicopter."

Shego looked up, and spotted a black helicopter approaching. It was big and bulky, and rather disconcertingly had a cannon mounted under the cockpit. Shego reflexively tried to activate her Glow, only to remember that she wasn't in her body.

A door on the side of the helicopter opened, and a familiar figure dove out, activating a low-altitude parachute and executing a perfect jump right in the middle of the yard. The helicopter curved away.

"Miss me, honey?"

"I think I preferred it when we had to sneak around. What's with the chopper?"

"It's one of Professor Dementor's helicopter drones. I stole them for Dr. Drakken."

"You did? I'm impressed, Kimmie."

"I though you might be." Kim gave her the smug look Shego knew so well, apparently unconcerned about this latest bout of villainy. Shego experienced an urge to jump her bones right then and there. "What about you? Have you been a good girl?"

"I have, too. I think I deserve some sort of a reward."

"It's not really being good if you do it for rewards, Shego, but maybe I'll give you a little treat anyway. You know, to encourage further good behavior."

"I understand. It's not like you would do it for any selfish reasons."

"You do remember you two aren't alone, right? I'd tell you to get a room, except eww, and also Sensei is here any minute."

"You keep on pretending you don't find the idea of two of us having steamy lesbian sex totally hot."

"Shego."

"Am I wrong, Kimmie? Okay, if there's a person here who doesn't get hot thinking about me and Kimmie going at it, raise your hand. Yeah, didn't think so."

"What about Rufus?"

"That's a paw, not a hand."

"Ah, Stoppable-san, Rufus-san. I see you are well."

Shego spun around at the voice, to be faced with a foating transparent figure of an old Japanese man with a long white beard.

"Sensei!"

"It is an honor to meet you again, Stoppable-san."

"Wow. He really does have a sensei."

"You're a little more translucent than I expected. Is this... astral projection?"

"You are very perceptive, Kim Possible, as expected of the famous teen heroine."

"You can tell which one I am?"

"Stoppable-san informed me of your situation, and now that I am here I can clearly perceive your aura."

"Wow. Uh, thank you for agreeing to help us."

"Think nothing of it. I only ask that you keep the nature of Yamanouchi secret."

"You can trust us." Kim looked sideways. "Right?"

"Hey, if you can sort our problem out, I have no problem keeping your secrets. So, you can tell that our minds have been swapped?"

"Not only your minds, but your very essence. Your souls, if you prefer the term. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that your souls returned to the wrong bodies. It is not a common occurrence, but it has been known to have happened before, to neophytes in the art under certain circumstances."

"But we didn't do any astral projection. A machine did this to us."

"A machine that can induce astral projection in people lacking the skill? I would not have believed such a thing to be possible. Could I see this marvelous machine?"

"It got destroyed. That's why we're stuck like this."

"Ah. Was Stoppable-san involved?"

"Yup."

The incorporeal teacher nodded sagely. "Then perhaps the machine was meant to be destroyed."

"I'm not sure that's how Ron works."

"Surely your experience has taught you both much."

"Things have been learned, yes. But how will we get back to normal without the machine? Can you, like, zap us back?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, but the problem isn't insuperable. All you need to do is to learn astral projection, as you call it."

"That simple, huh? How long did it take you?"

"I learned the art through decades after decades of meditation, but it is not necessary for you to attain even my modest level of skill. Your souls are still anchored to their proper vessels, and it should not require a great effort to restore them there. You are both martial artists, so I assume you are familiar with meditation."

"Yeah, uh, I never really bothered with that woo stuff."

Shego turned towards Kim. Maybe it would be enough if one of them learned to do that. Kim looked down as she twisted her foot around.

"I had so much to do, I didn't have time to sit around doing nothing for hours on end."

"Ah," the sensei said. "Perhaps this will be a little trickier than I thought."

"You can help us, right?"

"I cannot maintain my projection indefinitely. It will be Stoppable-san's honor to teach you the rudiments of meditation. Once you have learned to reach the right state of mind, I will return to guide you in the art of astral projection."

With that, the translucent image of the old man faded away. Shego, Kim and Ron looked at each other. Shego took it upon herself to put into words what all of them were thinking. "Yep, we're screwed."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Kim Possible sat very still and listened to Ron while trying to relax and not think of anything.

"...And that's all there is to it."

"You have no idea how meditation works, do you?" Shego said.

"Hey, I've meditated bunch of times."

"Successfully?"

"I might have usually fallen asleep."

"Yeah, this has been a complete waste of two minutes. I can't believe I let you talk me into giving it a try, Kimmie."

"We need to learn to meditate somehow, and he... uh, has been taught by a master."

"We can find a better teacher. It would be hard to find anyone worse. A self-help book would be better."

Kim had to admit that was probably true. She was sure she could learn how to meditate with a few pointers. She had just never had time to get into it, that was all. "Ron, I think we should do some self-study—before our next session, I mean."

"If you insist, KP, but remember who the local master is," Ron said. When nobody commented, he continued: "Me. It's me."

"Sure."

"Aand, since you two are absolute beginners, _I_ think we should take it again from the top."

"Knock yourself out, but that's not really my thing," Shego said. "Now that Kimmie's here, I really need to pick her brain about that whole cheerleader thing. We're kinda on a deadline with the whole regionals si—thing, so gotta go, bye."

Kim found herself being dragged to her car by her body. "At least you're taking the cheerleading seriously."

"Not really, I just needed an excuse to get out of there."

"Why? You could have just left."

"Uh... but you couldn't. I meant an excuse for you."

"Of course you did." Kim got into the car, on passenger side. "This feels a little weird."

Shego glanced at her and apparently realized what she meant. "Today you've stolen robot helicopters for a supervillain, met a holographic sensei, but not driving your car is what feels weird."

"Your point? Hmm, I guess you being thoughtful also counts. I didn't realize you cared about people."

"Just you. As long as we're together, the rest can go to hell."

Kim didn't think Shego was being straight with her. She was pretty sure she had tried to avoid hurting Ron's feelings, at least a little. Being around her friends and family seemed to be good for Shego's socialization. Perhaps their body switch sitch had benefits beyond sexual roleplay. Not that sexual roleplay wasn't a pretty nice benefit.

"Darn. My parents will be home by now."

* * *

"I told you, Kimmie, it was an excuse to get out of there."

"You also told me you promised Tara to attend the practice tomorrow." Kim was happy to learn that Shego's new-found concern for people extended to the girls on the squad. "We need to go over it so you'll know what to do."

Shego looked like she was about to argue, then dejectedly dropped her shoulders. "I suppose."

"That's the spirit. Now, let me sketch out the general choreography."

Shego picked up one of Kim's reference figures. "I take it you guys don't actually combine into a giant cheerleader, or transform into vehicles."

Kim snatched the toy away from her. "It's not my fault the Tweebs only have robots and army men."

"It kinda is your fault you don't have any dolls, though." Shego glanced at the Cuddle Buddies on the bed. "Apart from those abominations."

"Don't diss my babies. They just don't have the articulation for formations. Or consistent scale."

"Did you never play dress-up with fashion dolls?"

"No. Well, sometimes with Ron. Did you?"

"You said you'd demonstrate the routine?"

"Right."

Kim proceeded to walk Shego through the general phases of the choreography with her teaching aids. She did it a couple of times to be safe.

"I think it would be better if you did combine into a giant cheerleader."

"You can pitch that to Tara, but I don't think she'd be too thrilled about changes at this stage."

"Just remember that it was your idea."

Kim felt she could safely ignore Shego. "I think we can move to the actual performance. I will demonstrate the moves, and you'll do them after me." An inspiration hit Kim. "Ooh, wait a second while I get ready."

Shego asked her what she meant, but Kim was already busy getting her cheerleading outfit from her wardrobe.

"Okay, yeah, I get it, but I don't really need to wear it to practice, do I?"

"It's not for you, silly. We need room for this, and it's not like your body can be seen in our backyard in your trademark costume." Kim slowly started opening the hidden zipper. "Besides, this isn't really a cheerleading outfit."

"You aren't putting one on my body," Shego said. She didn't try to stop her, though.

Kim started peeling off the catsuit in a somewhat sensual manner. It was a good thing she'd had practice. "It's my body for the moment. I thought you liked me in a short skirt."

"I do like you in many things." Shego was sitting very still on her bed, eyes fixed on Kim.

That suited Kim just fine. Shego's gaze on her made her feel hot. Her little impromptu show slowed down as she turned up the sexiness. Yes, turning around to peel off the suit worked nicely to draw attention to Shego's delectable behind. Kim followed it by sitting on the edge of her bed to get the suit all the way off. It was much better than stumbling around with it bunched around her ankles, and she could really highlight Shego's long shapely legs. She sat there a while clad only in underwear, looking at Shego from the corner of her eye. She liked what she saw.

Then it was time for reverse striptease. Kim grabbed her uniform top and stood up with a spin. She swung the garment around a few times before slipping it over her head and pulling it down to hide Shego's bra-clad torso from sight once again. Her spankies should have been next, but she decided to forgo them since today she only had an audience of one, and she didn't mind Shego seeing her panties. She placed the skirt on the floor and stepped inside it. She squatted down and then straightened back up, pulling the skirt up in one hip-wiggling motion. She struck a presentation pose with one leg bent and her arms in the air.

"How do you look?"

"More like someone roleplaying a cheerleader than an actual one."

Shego had a point. The costume was made for a slimmer figure. The top was stretched by Shego's fuller bosom, and the hem of the skirt rode a little higher than designed due to her wider hips. Combined, they made for a very provocative picture.

Kim sat down on the bed next to Shego. "So what happens next?" Her voice was a little husky.

"You tell me. You were supposed to teach me your routine, your room doesn't have a door, and your parents are home."

"You can't seriously be worried about that after the way you outed us to your family and my friends."

"Which one of us would they ground if they discovered us doing something naughty?"

"Huh. That's... a little more complicated than I'd thought."

"Lot's of things have been complicated lately."

"Do you think it'll get less complicated? Even when we get switched back we'll still be on different sides of the law."

"It's worked fine so far."

"Yeah, but, well, I think I'd like you to meet my parents some day."

"Already covered it."

"Not quite in the sense I meant."

"Look at it this way: if they knew they probably wouldn't let us be here unsupervised. Now, are you going to teach me your routine, or are we going to make out?"

"Can't it be both?"

"No. Anyone who can teach a cheer routine while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."

"Or the cheer routine, I suppose. Are you serious about learning it? You've avoided it so far."

"I gave Tara your word. You don't want me to go back on it, do you?"

"So it's on her account you are suddenly so intent on it. Should I be jealous?" Kim's voice was teasing.

"No. On a completely unrelated note, and purely out of curiosity: where do you stand on open relationships?"

"I'm thinking I should be jealous." Her voice was much more serious now.

"Kimmie, you have a bunch of pretty high school girls lusting after you, and you think _you_ should be jealous?"

"I seriously doubt that."

"Just try them. Veronica sure wouldn't mind it."

"She's a little confused right now, I'm sure she'll get over it." The thought of Ron's clone sister reminded her of something. "Hey, maybe Veronica can teach us meditation. If she has Ron's memories..."

"She's at least prettier than him, but she's just as much of a goof. Or do you just want an excuse to spend some time with her?"

"Shego, our relationship might have some complications, but I want to make it work with you, not find somebody else.

"I can live with that. But if you want to have a little fun on the side with other pretty young things, I can live with that, too. And, for as long as you are stuck in my body, I'm even willing to bite the bullet and do it on your behalf."

"You're an epitome of selflessness."

Kim didn't really feel like making out with Shego anymore. Perhaps it was cheer practice after all.

* * *

Kim was impressed and a little disappointed that Shego had actually paid serious attention to the moves rather than merely her. She had really surprised Kim by being willing to attempt the moves herself, with Kim's direction. Kim doubted she would have done that if she'd been aware of her mother occasionally checking up on them from behind the window. Thankfully Shego was mostly facing towards the yard and not the house. She just hoped her mother hadn't noticed her lack of spankies, or the very hands-on approach she took to correcting Shego's posture.

"Do you think we can call it a day?"

"You've made progress, but you are nowhere near ready for the practice tomorrow."

"And I'm not going to be, not in one day."

"I'm not giving up yet. There's still time."

"You need to get back to the lair, too. Do you even have transportation for that?"

"I thought I'd stay here tonight." Kim pulled Shego close to whisper in her ear. "Since you've been such a good girl, maybe I'll sneak into my bed to give you a little reward."

"As nice as that sounds, laws of drama demand that your family walk in on us if you try. Besides, Dr. D is just getting ramped up on a new scheme. This is no time for ditching work. You need to get my cute ass back into the lair."

"Do I really? I just got him the parts he needed, I bet he's too busy with his stupid freezing laser to even notice."

"Freezing laser? He's working on a freezing laser?"

"I know!"

"Never mind that. He probably forgot something. Or mixed things up and asked for wrong things. Or changed his mind. He needs a lot of babysitting, and you are the babysitter."

"But it's so annoying!"

"I know! Welcome to the working life. That's what lets me rent apartments full of fun little toys."

"You've made your point. Let's go through the thing one more time and then I'll figure out how to get back."

At least she could enjoy seeing Shego practice a cheer routine a little longer.

* * *

In the end Kim decided to call in a favor to get a lift to where she'd stashed Dr. Drakken's hover car. She wore a blonde wig and her mother's clothes and pretended to not be pretending to be Shego. Shego vouched for her while pretending to be her. They totally needed to uncomplicate their lives at some point.

It was late by the time she got back. The drone helicopters were lined up next to the time-share lair. It was very conspicuous, and it wasn't a real landing pad, but there was little she could do about it. The henchmen had unloaded the stolen equipment, and Dr. Drakken had apparently made a start on organizing it before calling it a night and turning in. Kim did a quick inspection of the lair, but everything seemed to be in order, and the henchmen were keeping a lookout, as instructed. She'd had a long day, so she decided to just go to sleep.

She woke up in the middle of the night and sat bolt upright in Shego's bed. It wasn't her phone that had woken her. It wasn't any of the alarms she had set to warn her of uninvited guests, either. She sat very still and held her breath as she listened, but heard no noises. Shego's room was dark like only a windowless room could. The only thing she could distinguish was the somewhat lighter rectangle of the door, framed by the light leaking in from the seams. For a second a slim silhouette showed against it, darker than the background. Her instincts had been right.

There was somebody else in the room.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Shego looked at Tara's crestfallen face, feeling like a heel.

"What do you mean you injured your leg?"

"I'm sorry, I hurt it on a mission."

"Why are you even taking missions right now?" Tara looked quite distraught. "You promised me you'd be at the practice today."

"And I will. I just... can't fully participate."

"Oh, okay, at least you can direct us... but what about the regionals? Will you be alright for it?"

"I should be, it's not that bad." All she needed to do was to learn astral projection in the next couple of days, and Kim would be right as rain. "That's why I don't want to take any chances right now."

"That makes sense. You definitely will be there today, right?" Tara's eyes were big and hopeful.

"I already said I would. I'm not going to let you down."

"You did say that, I just—" Tara bit her lip. "I'll see you there."

"Definitely. Bye, Tara."

Shego watched Tara depart down the corridor. She wasn't quite the visual treat Bonnie was, or command the same attention from the other students, but somehow the sight of the cheerful cheerleader left her feeling cheery all the same.

"What are you smiling about?" Shego hadn't notice Monique walk up to her.

"We finally got a break, and might have a way to fix the situation. When you next see me, you might not be seeing me.

"You mean I won't be seeing you at all, but my best girlfriend."

"You're seeing her too?"

"More often than you."

"Not you, too," Ron said, as he and his clone sister joined Shego and Monique.

"KP has two girlfriends?" Veronica said. "Do you think she'd be interested in a third?"

"You need to learn the difference between a girlfriend and a girlfriend, girlfriend." Monique waited for Veronica to work through the sentence, but when that didn't seem to be happening, turned back towards Shego. "So you hurt your leg, huh?"

"Yes," Shego said. How much of that conversation had Monique witnessed? "I lead a dangerous life. It's entirely plausible that I might have injured my leg doing some daredevil stunt while helping some deserving people with their legitimate troubles."

"Color me convinced," Monique said, not looking convinced. "Does _she_ know you totally legitimately injured her leg?"

"There's no need to burden her with every little detail of her day. Speaking of which, it's time to get this school day started." Shego opened Kim's locker, and found herself looking at Wade's face. "You know that's creepy, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I have something for you. Look in the box."

Shego gingerly opened the small box that had appeared in the locker without her putting it there, and picked up the item inside it. "What is this?"

"It's an earpiece."

"I know that. What I really want to know is: why is this?"

"She wants you to wear it so she can give you instructions at the cheer practice."

Shego wanted to give a frustrated refusal, but she had to admit that she probably would need some guidance. She pocketed the earpiece. "Fine. Cyrano ploy it is. I don't need to be wired for picture, do I?"

"That's not necessary, I've already installed cameras in the gym."

"And that's not creepy at all."

"The gym is a public space, at least as far as students of this school are concerned. You being there is creepier."

"You haven't placed any cameras in the locker room, have you?"

"Of course not!"

"Relax, girl. Wade hasn't always shown the best judgment in the past, but that's why we keep him on a tight leash."

"I wouldn't be surprised to learn he likes it that way."

"Anyway! She'll contact you after school."

"You mean on the phone, right?"

"She will probably phone you first, yes."

"Da—arn it, how is she going to do my job if she's constantly skipping out to come here?"

"Once you get switched back, you can do your job yourself."

"You say that like it's a good thing."

"I though you hated being back in school?"

"Eh, beats working for a living."

When had she become so used to going to school and interacting with her—Kim's fellow students? It wasn't a terrible change of pace, but truth be told she was ready for things to get back to normal. Then Kim could lead the cheer team to the regional tournament, she could go back to mooching off Dr. Drakken, and she'd never have to set foot in this school again.

For reasons unclear Shego found herself thinking about Tara's shining smile.

* * *

Shego was dragging her heels towards the girls' locker room when her phone finally rang.

"It's about time—"

"Equipment shed. Now."

"I like the aggressive approach, but I don't even know where that is."

"... I'll give you directions."

Giving directions turned out to be one of the many things Kim could do well, and Shego had no trouble finding the shed by the sports field. The door was suspiciously ajar, and Shego's sharp eye spotted signs around the lock that suggested it had been picked. The idea of Kim having done that caused a strange feeling in her chest.

Shego opened the door and peered inside. The interior was dark and cramped. "Princess? You here?"

Shego stepped inside and worked her way past shelves filled with assorted paraphernalia. She turned a corner and saw Kim, and for a couple of breathless seconds that was all she did. She wasn't sure why the sight of her own body she'd seen only yesterday affected her so much. Nevertheless, it took her a moment to recover and notice Kim wasn't alone.

"I just want you to know, right off, that I'm not happy you replaced me with a Japanese schoolgirl, but I completely understand."

"Try to be serious for a moment. This is Yori."

The Japanese girl was slender and pretty, and she wore an unmistakable school uniform, complete with a short plaid skirt. She bowed to Shego. "It is an honor to meet you, Shego-san."

"I believe an explanation is customary in situations like this."

"Oh, right, sorry. Yori is from Yamanouchi. She sneaked into my bedroom—well, your bedroom, I guess—last night."

"Putting your ninja skills to good use, I see."

"It was my honor to be chosen to assist Stoppable-san in assisting you. While everyone at Yamanouchi naturally has complete confidence in him, sensei thought that the two of you might respond better to a woman's touch."

"Your sensei is a perceptive man. So, how did Kimmie respond to your touch?"

"Ki—Possible-san wasted no time in making use of my humble talents. She was a most eager pupil."

"And you were a very dedicated teacher." Kim turned to address Shego. "She kept me up all night."

"Right." Somehow her earlier joke didn't seem that funny anymore.

"Anyway, I couldn't very well leave her at the lair, so I brought her with me. Besides, she needs to show you what she showed me."

"It's only fair. But perhaps you should get to why you're here before you compromise our reputations any more?"

"Me?"

"Don't you think a secret rendezvous with a lesbian supervillain might be bad for your reputation?"

Kim glanced at Yori. "I thought you preferred to let people think you're straight."

"Hooking up with schoolgirls in a storage shed doesn't seem very straight to me."

"Stop it. You're giving me a headache, and I'm not even sure which head it should be in."

Yori brought a hand in front of her mouth to hide her giggle. "Your American-style humor is very funny, even if it is a little lewd."

"I'm glad you appreciate it." Shego looked to Kim. "I'm supposed to be running a cheer practice, Kimmie, on your insistence."

"I know. I just wanted to meet you for final instructions."

"Do you really think any last-minute advice is going to make a difference?"

"Uh... I guess we'll just have to play it by ear."

"Yes, I've got your earpiece." Shego produced it and put it in Kim's ear. It was custom fitted. She guessed Kim had an occasion to wear one at times. "Shouldn't I have a mic, too?"

"Wade has taken care of sound and vision."

"Me not being able to talk to you directly could be a problem."

"You'd look too suspicious talking into a microphone. I'll talk you through it."

"Just... use judgment, all right? I don't need you jabbering all the time."

"I know what I'm doing," Kim said with an annoyed scowl.

"Sure, sure. But if you want me to look like you know what you are doing, I need to actually show up." Shego gestured towards the exit.

"Right. Uh... break a leg?"

"Already did."

"Real high school cheerleaders," Yori said in a somewhat dreamy voice. "I wish I could see it."

"Wanna come?"

Yori's face lit up. "Can I?"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. We don't usually have an audience at the practice."

"It'll be fine."

Kim looked at Yori's barely concealed excitement and pleading eyes. "Fine. She should go home with you, anyway, so she can teach you the ropes."

"It would be my honor. Please look forward to it."

"Oh, I am. I've never tried kinbaku."

"Shego!"

Kim and Yori blushed, suggesting they knew what the word meant. How and why did Kim know that? She was far from innocent, of course, and not all of her knowledge came from Shego.

She just hoped it didn't come from Yori last night.

Shego left the equipment shed with Yori. She took a quick look around, and saw that they had been noticed. A couple of schoolgirls some distance away looked at them with wide eyes, before smiling knowingly. Shego wondered what Kim's reputation would be like by the time they finally managed to switch back. She shrugged her shoulders. This one was on Kim: she was the one who had insisted on a rendezvous in the equipment shed, and brought a Japanese schoolgirl along.

"Did your sensei explain or situation to you?"

"Yes. Your and Possible-san's spirits inhabit each other's bodies."

"I'm rather surprised you're so willing to help someone like me."

"We think very highly of Possible-san, and it is obvious that you two mean a lot to each other."

"How do you figure?" She hadn't really been discreet in the shed, but surely the nature of their relationship shouldn't be common knowledge at Yamanouchi.

"I believe a situation like yours could only happen between two people who are tied together with a red string of fate." Yori blushed a little.

"Oh." Well, it didn't need to mean anything. Yori was just guessing, and the entire thing was superstition, anyway.

They walked the rest of the way in silence.

* * *

"Finally you get here, Kim. You've kept everyone waiting." Despite her words, it seemed like Bonnie was the only one annoyed.

"It's kind of cute how much you miss me, Princess."

"Wha—I don't—don't be ridiculous." Bonnie looked away, her cheeks red, conceivably from anger. "Whatever. And who is this?"

" _What was that?"_ Shego wasn't sure why Kim was asking her questions when she expressly hadn't given her means to answer them.

"An exchange student. She was interested in cheerleading, so I brought her along."

Yori bowed. "Please take care of me."

"Oh, she's so cute! Can we keep her?"

" _I suppose simple approach can work, too."_ Shego had been fairly confident that a pretty and exotic girl like Yori would be welcome with this group. She had also been fairly sure Kim wouldn't be able to refrain from needless commentary.

"Oh, great. More audience."

Shego looked around at Bonnie's protest and spotted Veronica sitting on the bleachers. "What's she doing here?"

" _I don't know, but please don't let her interfere with the practice. She has a little too much Ron in her."_

"She told me she was interested in cheerleaders," Tara said. "I wasn't really sure how to..."

How to get rid of her, presumably. Tara was just too nice for her own good. Shego stepped up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry." Her heartbeat exhibited a slight irregularity when Tara flashed her a quick smile.

"Well, let's give our audience a show. Tara, if you would?" Shego steered Yori towards the seats.

"I thought you would run the practice today, Kim."

"Come on, Tara. Let's see the fruits of all your hard work." Shego gave Tara an encouraging smile and braced herself internally. "Please and thank you."

" _Aww."_

Shego suspected the real reason Kim hadn't given her a microphone was so she could bully her with impunity.

"Hi, Yori," Veronica said as Shego and Yori sat down next to her.

"Please forgive me, but I don't seem to remember you. Have we met?"

"This is Veronica. She's Ron's... cousin."

Veronica leaned past Shego to whisper to Yori. "Actually I'm her sexchanged clone, but that's a secret. I have most of his memories, and I remember you very well from Yamanouchi ninja school."

Yori giggled. "Oh, you certainly have Stoppable-san's funny American-style humor."

"That's one way to put it. Now, shush, the both of you. I need to pay attention." The cheerleaders were doing stretches, after all, and she needed to supervise.

* * *

Shego did her best to relay Kim's observations and comments as the cheer squad went through their routine. "All in all, that's pretty good, girls," Shego said as the performance had wound down, causing Tara's anxious look to melt into a pleased smile. That wasn't exactly what Kim had said, but Shego felt toning it down was good for morale. It turned out Kim could be a harsh taskmistress.

"We can't perform the finale, though, since we are shorthanded. Are you sure you can't participate at least a little?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not in any condition to leap to the top of the pyramid."

"Well, could you substitute at base and let someone else do it?"

"Someone else..." Shego mused aloud. "I wonder who that would be?"

" _Grr. Bonnie."_

Shego was a little surprised by the choice and wondered why Kim would promote her rival to the spotlight. Lucky for her, Kim seemed to read her mind.

" _She's the best cheerleader on the squad—after me, of course."_

Of course: Kim's desire for the best possible performance overruled her personal feelings on the personnel.

"Bonnie," Shego said, her voice a little husky. "How would you like to be on top for a change?"

"Kim?" Bonnies's voice had a pleasing squeaky quality to it.

"This is your chance to impress me. If you can satisfy me, maybe I'll let you have another go at it later."

"I don't have to prove anything to you."

"I guess you don't _have_ to," Shego said. "But you want to, don't you?"

"Fine. Since you insist, I'll take my rightful place at the top."

"It's my place, Cupcake, I'm just letting you borrow it."

"We still need you to assist, Kim."

Shego turned to look at the observes on the bleachers. "How about we let our prospects show us what they've got?"

" _Remember what I said. Yori could probably do it, though. She's strong and very flexible."_

Shego really wanted to ask Kim how she knew that. It didn't seem like something that would have been relevant to meditation practice."Yori, do you want to try it?"

"Can I really?" There was an honest smile lighting up Yori's face, before she schooled her expression. "I mean, it would be my honor."

"I'm not sure about this, Kim, it could be dangerous if she messes up."

"Don't worry so much, it'll be fine." Shego certainly didn't want to do it. "Just show her what she needs to do and you'll see."

Kim's judgment proved sound. Yori had impressive skills, and she was a quick study. She performed her part without a hitch, and the squad pulled off the grand finale successfully. Yori was impressive enough for a beginner that the girls showered her with praise, much to Bonnie's annoyance. Shego gave Bonnie a couple of congratulatory pats on her backside, which prompted a strangled little noise. Her behind felt as good as it looked. "Don't look so glum, Pumpkin. You did fine, too."

"I was more than just 'fine' and you know it," Bonnie said. "And keep your hands off me, you creep."

" _For once, I agree with Bonnie."_

"Lighten up, Princess."

Shego was feeling pretty good herself, mostly from relief at having made it through the practice. There might be some meditation study in store for her later, but for the moment she was just happy to get to go home.

" _That looked promising. Run the whole routine again."_


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay again, folks.

* * *

 **Chapter 24**

Kim Possible sat cross-legged on the floor and tried to keep her mind empty of all thought, save for those of her body. She concentrated on picturing that body floating in a formless void. She pictured reaching for it, not physically, but with her very essence. She tried to imagine the welcoming feel of her own supple flesh, the smooth skin, the silky hair, the slender limbs and caressing fingers, the gentle curves pressing against...

Kim opened her eyes and the details of her room came flooding back in. "This isn't working." The fact that her body currently housed her lover was proving a distraction.

"Please keep at it, Possible-san. Your progress has been admirable, and you have both become more adept at reaching the correct state of mind," Yori said from her perch on Kim's bed.

"She's right, Kimmie." Shego, facing her, also opened her eyes. "I thought I felt something for a moment. I think this might actually work."

"You felt something?" Kim had also felt things, but she doubted it meant that Shego was going to enter her body. Not with Yori in the room. "What was it like?"

"I can't really describe it. It was a... is that really important right now?"

"Yes, Shego. I need to know what it feels like, so I'll know if I'm making progress."

"You won't mistake it for anything else, trust me."

"I thought you weren't even sure you felt something?"

"What's with the third degree?" Kim's face frowned at her.

"Are you really going to sabotage our chances to get back to our own bodies just because you find it so hard to talk about your feelings?"

Shego glanced at Yori. "That has nothing to do with anything."

"Just tell me what you felt." They could talk about Shego's intimacy issues at another time.

"Fine. I don't know why you needed to make such a production out of it. It felt like you touched me, but not really. It was a little like how my Glow feels, intangible but there, somehow. It was like... I really don't know how to describe it. I've never felt anything like it." Shego trailed off, looking a little uncertain, and surprisingly vulnerable.

"A gentle touch of the soul." Yori pressed her hands to her cheeks. "It sounds so romantic. You're touching each other's innermost place."

"Kimmie and I do that all the time, no meditation required."

"Shego!" Not that her thoughts hadn't been trending in that direction. "Wait. You felt like I touched you. Not you touching me?"

"It's hard to have one without the other, but yeah. Why?"

"I was just wondering if that means that I got through to you somehow." Perhaps her attempt hadn't been entirely in vain.

"Or maybe you're just trying to take credit for my good work."

"This isn't a—"

"You are trying to establish a connection between the two of you. It cannot be done without the efforts of both of you."

Kim and Shego glared at each for a moment, before Kim looked away and took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's give it another try." She turned to Yori. "Wouldn't it be better to have your sensei here for this?"

"Do you not have confidence in me, Possible-san?" Yori's expression was calm, but she sounded a little hurt to Kim.

"I do," Kim hurried to say. "Of course I do. But he's the expert, and he only, uh, manifested for a few minutes. We only have two days until the regionals."

"Let's focus on the big picture, Kimmie. The goal is to switch back."

"Yes. And unless that happens before then, you'll have to take the stage as me."

Shego turned towards Yori. "Perhaps your sensei knows some tricks to speed this up?"

"You two heard him as well as I did. You are on the right path, but there are no shortcuts to accomplishing your goal. And when it comes to the competition, please, Possible-san, have faith in Shego, also. I'm sure she will rise to the occasion."

* * *

"Why are we out in the backyard and not in your room practicing body switching?"

"In case I won't manage to reclaim my body and position in the squad in time, you'll need to be ready."

"I don't understand why I agreed to this," Shego grumbled.

"It can't be helped, if it's for Possible-san," Yori said with a little smile. "Is this the move?"

"Yes, you've got it exactly. You're a natural, Yori."

Yori beamed at Kim's praise.

"And the uniform looks better on you than it did on me. Kimmie."

"I don't know, it did look pretty provocative on your body. But it does fit Yori nicely."

"Thank you so much for letting me wear it. It's like a fantasy come true."

"Oh, the pleasure's all Kimmie's, I'm sure."

Yori smiled and performed the next sequence of the routine as Kim and Shego watched. She looked good.

"Maybe she should go to the regionals rather than me," Shego said.

Kim sized Yori up with a thoughtful look. "We do have a similar build... maybe if you wore a wig and some make-up—"

"That would be dishonorable, Possible-san."

"You're a ninja, what do you care about honor," Shego said. "Isn't it also dishonorable for me to enter in her stead?"

"Naturally, it's different if it's you, Shego-san."

"Because I'm a villain and have no honor?"

"Because you are Possible-san's other half."

"Ah. Uh... anyway, I don't relish the chance of leaping on top of a squad of high school cheerleaders... well... but the pyramid is a bit much. Can't I just be at bottom?"

"You mean base. But what about my reputation? I'm always top."

"Would your reputation be helped if you ended up in a tangle of cheerleaders, on stage?"

"Why did you emphasize 'on stage'?"

"Just answer the question."

"No, I guess not. But that means Bonnie's going to take center spot."

"It doesn't have to be her."

"Yes it does, she's the only one I trust to pull it off. I just hate to give her an opportunity to gloat."

"You're a complicated creature, Kimmie. Don't worry, I can handle her."

"Just don't do anything weird."

"Perish the thought."

"Okay, with the three of us we can practice the basics of a pyramid. You two can be the base and I'll be at the top."

"As expected of Possible-san," Yori said with a smile.

* * *

Kim found herself once again sitting next to Shego at the family dinner. By now Shego was common enough a sight at the table—as was her body controlled by Shego's mind—that her family paid more attention to the dinner guest squeezed next to Kim.

"Thank you for allowing me to partake in your family dinner, Possible-sensei," Yori said.

"You are very welcome," said Kim's mother from her place at one end of the table. "You are here to help my daughter, after all."

"It is my honor."

"I'm surprised you're not more skeptical about it, mom."

"I said from the start that what happened to you two is scientifically impossible. It's a relief to hear that that I was right."

"I don't really believe in all this psychic stuff, but you do sometimes get yourself mixed up in some pretty weird situations, Kimmie-cub," Kim's father said. "Although, I did participate in some consciousness-expanding, let's call them experiments, in my college days. Why, I remember this one time when Ramesh had gotten hold of some—"

"Dear," Kim's mother said in a very definite tone.

"Uh, quite right."

"No fair," Jim said.

"We wanted to hear more," Tim said.

Dr. Possible glanced at Dr. Possible's narrowed eyes and tugged at his collar. "Tell me, Yori. Do you know kung fu?"

"I have had the honor of receiving instruction in some forms of martial arts, Possible-sensei."

"You know, our Kimmie-cub also has some pretty neat moves." Dr. Possible vaguely waved his knife around. "Perhaps you could trade notes."

"We had an opportunity to take each other's measure on our first meeting, before we proceeded to other activities. For martial artists, it can be a very intimate experience."

"We don't need—"

"Details on that one."

"The other activities were meditation practice. We practiced meditation."

"In my bed."

"Your room has one chair and no carpets."

"How are your meditation exercises going?"

"Both Possible-san and Shego-san have shown remarkable progress."

"Not that I can really tell."

"Cheer up, Possible-san."

"Was that a pun?"

"I have to apologize for Kimmie dragging you into her cheer practice, too. I'm afraid she gets a little obsessive with competitions."

"Oh, no, I was happy I could participate. My school doesn't have a cheerleading squad, and I've always wanted to try it. I'm very grateful to Possible-san for indulging my selfish desires."

"Yeah, Kimmie's great like that," Shego said.

"Would you like to come see the regionals, Yori?"

"Could I?" Kim could swear Yori's eyes were sparkling.

"Sure. Hopefully you'll be in the audience watching me, and not Shego in my body."

* * *

Kim Possible sat in the audience and watched as her body prepared to perform in the first round of the regional tournament for high school cheerleaders. Veronica sat next to Kim, with Yori between her and Ron. Kim had been a little worried how Yori would handle it, but she seemed to actually enjoy their antics.

Most of her worry was directed at Shego, however. She looked uncharacteristically nervous, Kim's skin glistening with sweat. She was standing at the back of the group rather than at Kim's accustomed position at the center, supposedly on account of her supposedly injured leg, which would hopefully shield her from keenest scrutiny. Bonnie took Kim's usual spot. She also looked strangely nervous. Kim would have thought she'd relish the opportunity to show her up.

The squad launched into their routine, and Kim's gaze stayed centered on Shego. She was stiff, but she was better synchronized than Kim had feared. She was trying to smile, and Kim wished she wasn't. She really needed practice with it. She hoped the audience wouldn't notice. The judges likely would. This was nowhere near the performance they needed, but it was the best they could do, under the circumstances. Kim knew Shego didn't really care about the competition, and it warmed her heart to know she was going through with this unfamiliar task for her sake.

Kim just wished she was doing a better job of it.

Throughout the performance Kim's eyes were locked on Shego, trying to urge her through the routine. Shego was performing as her, for her, as she was watching. In her mind's eye, her inner Kim was performing the routine in time with the outer Kim with the inner Shego. She had rarely felt such a connection with Shego; in this moment it was almost like they were the same person, two minds and one body bent to one task, the real and imagined movements blending together. Kim's sense of Shego's body faded as her will strained to connect with the other woman and make the notion a reality.

Ron and Veronica's chatter faded away, the crowd faded away, the other cheerleaders Kim usually watched like a hawk faded away, until, for Kim, in this crowded place there was only Shego. The light faded as her perception shrunk to point focused on Shego's eyes. She experienced a sense of weightlessness, then vertigo, as the world started spinning around. After a rushing sense of dislocation Kim felt the sensation of a welcoming embrace, a tender caress that suffused the entirety of her being and left all of her nerves tingling. Her world faded into comforting blackness until suddenly, blindingly, her full senses returned to her with a soundless boom.

Kim found herself looking at the audience, her eyes locked on one member in particular, a sight that was at once so familiar, and yet completely alien. She was looking at Shego's body. She was looking at Shego, who seemed stunned, her expressive eyes and mouth wide. Kim's eyes also widened as the enormity of what had just happened hit her.

Then she was hit by a falling cheerleader.


End file.
